US revives talks of moving Tel Aviv embassy to Jerusalem
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence revived talk of the possibility the United States may move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, saying President Donald Trump was seriously considering the matter.
During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Trump's team spoke often about moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. But since taking office, the contentious issue appears to have moved to the backburner.
"After decades of simply talking about it, the president of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," Pence said in a speech to the influential, pro-Israel U.S. lobbying group AIPAC.
The relocation is strongly opposed by many U.S. allies as the Palestinians also claim the city as their capital. While Israel claimed the city as its "eternal capital" after occupying East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israel war, the international community does not recognize the claim and foreign embassies are currently located in Tel Aviv.
The final status of Jerusalem is supposed to be determined via direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Palestinians want the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as part of their hoped-for state. The Palestinians want these areas along with the Gaza Strip for the establishment of a future Palestinian state. International law views the West Bank and east Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land as illegal.
If the United States were to relocate its embassy, it would be seen as an explicit recognition of Jerusalem belonging to Israel, potentially pre-determining the outcome of eventual peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The U.S. Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Trump's pick to be ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer allied with the Israeli right, who favors moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Trump's team spoke often about moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. But since taking office, the contentious issue appears to have moved to the backburner.
"After decades of simply talking about it, the president of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem," Pence said in a speech to the influential, pro-Israel U.S. lobbying group AIPAC.
The relocation is strongly opposed by many U.S. allies as the Palestinians also claim the city as their capital. While Israel claimed the city as its "eternal capital" after occupying East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israel war, the international community does not recognize the claim and foreign embassies are currently located in Tel Aviv.
The final status of Jerusalem is supposed to be determined via direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Palestinians want the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as part of their hoped-for state. The Palestinians want these areas along with the Gaza Strip for the establishment of a future Palestinian state. International law views the West Bank and east Jerusalem as "occupied territories" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land as illegal.
If the United States were to relocate its embassy, it would be seen as an explicit recognition of Jerusalem belonging to Israel, potentially pre-determining the outcome of eventual peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The U.S. Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Trump's pick to be ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer allied with the Israeli right, who favors moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.