News / Palestine / Foreign Policy

Trump considering ‘when, how’ to move embassy to Jerusalem as Friday deadline nears

Tuesday, 28 November 2017 9:47 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 02 December 2017 1:12 PM ]

US Vice-President Mike Pence speaks as he attends the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations at Queens Museum on November 28, 2017 in New York. (Photo by AFP)

US Vice President Mike Pence says his boss, Donald Trump, is considering “when and how” to move the US embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds as a Friday deadline approaches.

Without mentioning the deadline, Pence announced Tuesday that Trump is "actively considering" to keep part of his 2016 campaign pledge to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to whoops and applause of the audience at a pro-Israeli event in New York.

PressTV-Trump to keep US embassy in Tel Aviv

US President Donald Trump is stepping back from his campaign pledge to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.

The Republican president’s move could stir tensions in the region as Palestinians consider the city as their future capital.

“While for the past 20 years, Congress and successive administrations have expressed a willingness to move our embassy, as we speak, President Donald Trump is actively considering when and how to move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” said the former Indiana governor.

This file photo taken on January 20, 2017, shows the exterior of the US embassy in Tel Aviv.

Since US Congress ruled in 1995 that the embassy be relocated from Tel Aviv, every president has deferred the troublesome measure.

When Trump faced his first deadline back in June, he also refused to keep his campaign pledge to immediately move the embassy.

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According to Washington Post, “he acted, reluctantly, on advice from Cabinet heads, Jordanian King Abdullah II and others, who argued that such a move could ignite violence.”

PressTV-‘US to move embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds’

Moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds is "not a question of if, it is a question of when," says the US envoy to Israel.

Trump’s emerging administration was also starting stated efforts to restart Mideast peace talks, which could potentially be harmed by the move.

Trump, however, has harmed his agenda by other measures that have alienated Palestinians even further as his Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner stays in charge of the so-called peace process between Israel and Palestinians.

The Israeli regime, meanwhile, continues its atrocities and expansionist policies in the region.

US President Donald Trump (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

The US vice president's latest comments strengthen the possibility of Trump's first measure in the process of the relocation of the US embassy on Friday.

Pence was speaking at an event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the UN vote calling for "the establishment of a Jewish State in the Land of Israel.”

Hailed as a “great friend to the Jewish people” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump has mended ties with Israel that had gone sour under former President Barack Obama.

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