US Vice President Mike
Pence on Sunday 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 US presidential campaign, Trump's team
spoke often about moving the US 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 US lobbying group AIPAC.
Israel regards Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible
capital and wants all countries to base their embassies there,
though Israeli politicians also understand that moving the US
embassy there could be destabilizing.
The relocation is strongly opposed by many US allies as
the Palestinians also claim the city as their
capital.
The final status of Jerusalem is supposed to be determined
via direct negotiations between the Israelis and the
Palestinians.
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 US 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 US
embassy to Jerusalem.
