Pence: U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will open next year

Vice President Pence said Monday that the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will open before the end of 2019.

“By finally recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the United States has chosen fact over fiction. And fact is the only true foundation for a just and lasting peace,” Pence said in a speech to Israel’s parliament.

The U.S. will set its relocation plans in motion in the coming weeks, with the facility slated to open by the end of next year, Pence said. Observers had previously expected the Embassy to open in a few years.