Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat yesterday approved a construction permission to the US embassy to expand its buildings in the occupied city by around 700 square meters.

“I am happy and proud to approve the expansion of the US Embassy in Jerusalem,” Barakt said in a statement.
The embassy expansion comes six months after a controversial decision by the US administration to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Washington’s move has provoked international condemnation.

Earlier this month, the spokesperson of the embassy said that new building “would be completed by the summer of 2019.”
In October, the US government declared the merge of its consulate in Jerusalem – which primarily deals with Palestinians’ affairs – with the new embassy.