The American embassy in Jerusalem will be open by the end of 2019, US vice president Mike Pence said Monday as he became the first senior US leader to visit the city since Donald Trump recognised it as Israel’s capital.

The US had previously said it would take up to four years to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem but in a speech to the Israeli parliament, Mr Pence said that timetable had been sped up.

“That United States embassy will open before the end of next year,” Mr Pence said.

The Palestinians are boycotting Mr Pence’s trip and have said angrily that Mr Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem has disqualified the US as a peace broker.

But Mr Pence insisted he was still optimistic that peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians could resume for the first time since 2014.