Egyptians angry over US embassy move in Jerusalem

Egyptians in Cairo expressed anger and defeat over the United States decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem on Monday May 14.

The embassy move follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision last December to break with decades of U.S. policy and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“I am angry as a Muslim and I believe every Arab, not only Muslims, any person who associates with Arab nationalism, would be angry. There are no Arabs who would accept this idea. Whatever religion they belong to, we all feel the same. We feel angry, extremely angry. This decision is not for them to make”, said Egyptian lawyer, Ahmed Farag.

For Egyptian citizen Samy Badr-Eldin “as an Egyptian and Arab citizen I feel humiliated. Israel has been fighting us since 1948. As Arabs, twenty-two Arab nations, 350 million Arabs are defeated, (we are) defeated. When they celebrated 70 years since the creation of Israel, over Egypt’s Nile and near the Arab League, this was their declaration of a final victory.”

The move has delighted Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who welcomed the decision, saying it reflected that “the Jewish people have had a capital for 3,000 years, and that it is called Jerusalem.”

But the decision upset the Arab world and Western allies. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it a “slap in the face” and said the United States can no longer be regarded as an honest broker in any peace talks with Israel.