Trump Plans to Delay Decision on Moving Embassy to Jerusalem
Trump is planning to sign a six-month waiver on moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, US media reported, after news leaks spoke of an upcoming recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel triggering strong condemnation across the Muslim world.
These reports come after President Trump told Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian governments that he intends to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a step that could upend the White House’s peace efforts and spark regional unrest.
Leaders in Palestine, the Muslim World and Europe responded with warnings of a new Palestinian uprising, saying such a decision would bury all peace efforts in the Middle East.
The US Administration’s intention to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to transfer the United States’ Embassy to that city, “would have a negative impact on prospects for achieving a just, comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” warned King Mohammed VI in a message he sent Tuesday to President Trump.
“The Middle East region is in the grip of several serious crises, in addition to a series of tensions and many perils. It is therefore necessary to avoid taking any measure which could fuel the feelings of injustice and frustration that extremism and terrorism feed on, undermining the fragile stability in the region or frustrating hopes for meaningful negotiations to achieve the vision of the international community concerning a two-State solution,” the Moroccan king said.
On Monday, the Trump administration announced that it has not reached a decision yet on whether or not to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, despite the fact that Monday was the legal deadline for signing a presidential waiver on the matter. A White House spokesperson had said, “no action will be taken on the waiver today. We will share a decision on the waiver in the coming days.”
No other countries have their embassies in Jerusalem, with a long-standing international consensus that the city’s status should be decided in a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel regards the city as its undivided capital, while Palestinians see majority-Arab East Jerusalem as the seat of their future state.
