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Israel to Name Rail Station to Holy Western Wall in Jerusalem After Trump

© AP Photo / Evan VucciPresident Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, Monday, May 22, 2017, in Jerusalem
President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, Monday, May 22, 2017, in Jerusalem - Sputnik International
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Israel is sticking to its Jerusalem infrastructure development plan while expecting different countries to follow the US move and relocate their embassies to the city.

"The Western Wall is the holiest place for the Jewish people, and I decided to call the train station that leads to it after President Trump following his historic and brave decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel," Israel's transport minister Yisrael Katz stated, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post newspaper.   

The minister's plan stipulates the construction of two underground stations and digging a two-mile long tunnel under downtown Jerusalem and the Old City area, thus extending the disputed city's high-speed rail line, set to open next spring, to the Western Wall, the holiest Jewish site.

READ MORE: Israel Reportedly Steps Up Settlement Construction Activities in West Bank

The railway has been under construction since 2001, designed to complement existing slow rail routes between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and has been troubled by multiple delays and impediments. 

As Transportation Ministry Spokesman Avner Ovadia has specified, the project would cost Israel about $700 and about four years to complete if approved.

According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry's statement on December 26, the country was in talks with "at least 10 countries" from different parts of the world that were considering to move their embassies to Jerusalem, following US President Donald Trump's historic decision, legally recognizing the city as the Israeli capital.

READ MORE: More Embassy Relocations on Horizon? Israel 'in Contact With 10 Countries'

Trump's Decision on Jerusalem

The Katz plan pours praise on the US President's controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, announced on December 6, while it has triggered mass outrage of the Muslim community around the world and numerous protests, with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization, announcing the beginning of the third "intifada."

However, the move was renounced by the UNGA resolution, rejecting Trump's decision on December 21, rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming that Jerusalem "always was, always will be" the country's capital and noting that many countries supported the Jewish state.

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