Report: U.S. Embassy to Stay in Tel Aviv for Now
May 18, 2017 CBN News
President Trump will not move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem immediately, but a final decision on moving it has not yet been reached.
Wednesday, Bloomberg Politics reported that a senior White House official said that the president has decided not to make the move right now.
"We don't think it would be wise to do it at this time," the unnamed official told Bloomberg.
"We've been very clear what our position is and what we would like to see done, but we're not looking to provoke anyone when everyone's playing really nice."
The official went on to say that talks between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority appear to be promising.
In response to a query about the Bloomberg report, a White House official told CBN News: "We’re just not announcing anything regarding the embassy now or on the trip. There has been no final decision."
During a speech at the American Israeli Political Action Committee conference in March 2016, then candidate Trump said that he would move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, calling it "the eternal capital of the Jewish people."
His pledge made headlines across the globe, but he backed off once he took office, recently telling reporters "ask me in a month" when queried about it.
Meanwhile, President Obama had warned against the move before leaving office, saying, "When sudden unilateral moves are made that speak to the core issues or sensitivities of either side, that can be explosive."
Critics say moving the embassy would incite anger from the Arab world because the Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their own.
During their run for president, former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also pledged to move the U.S. embassy but failed to do so.
Share
Tweet
