海角大神

President Trump described a phone conversation with Israel's prime minister on Sunday as 鈥渧ery nice,鈥� while Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 office said it was 鈥渧ery warm.鈥� But the two leaders don鈥檛 appear to have discussed the elephant in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: whether the US embassy in Israel will move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Instead, Mr. Trump invited Mr. Netanyahu to Washington next month.

The Trump administration is expected to be much more sympathetic than the Obama administration to Israeli hard-liner attitudes about the West Bank and the contested city of Jerusalem. Trump鈥檚 appointed ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has close ties to Jewish West Bank settlements, as does the foundation run by the family of Trump鈥檚 son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump, too, has promised to be the first president to move the embassy to Jerusalem, a move Obama officials and Israeli security forces said would lead to more violence.

So far, however, Trump and his team have yet to act, with his press secretary saying hours ahead of the phone call on Sunday that the administration is 鈥渁t the of even discussing鈥� the move to the Holy City.

In Sunday鈥檚 phone conversation, Netanyahu and Trump did talk about the and other issues, according to Netanyahu鈥檚 office. According to a White House statement, Trump also told Netanyahu that Israel and the Palestinians must work toward peace themselves.

"[P]eace between Israel and the Palestinians can only be negotiated directly between the two parties," Trump told the Israeli leader, adding that "the United States will work closely with Israel to make progress towards that goal."

Hours ahead of Sunday鈥檚 conversation, right-wing Israeli politicians had been pushing the government to act on settlement building. Led by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, the municipality granted final approval on Sunday for 566 new homes in contested east Jerusalem, with Deputy Mayor Meir Turjeman, who heads the city鈥檚 housing committee, saying . The 566 permits had been put on hold for the final months of the Obama administration.

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, the leader of the pro-settler Jewish Home Party, had also been pressuring the government to back legislation to annex Maaleh Adumim, a sprawling West Bank settlement just east of Jerusalem, which many Israelis consider a suburb of the city. But Netanyahu鈥檚 Security Cabinet, which includes Mr. Bennet, agreed to postpone a vote on the annexation proposal until after the meeting between Netanyahu and Trump next month. 听

An official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss internal coalition negotiations, told the Associated Press that Netanyahu had been asked by members of the Trump administration not to take any major action without proper coordination.

The Israeli right has celebrated the American president鈥檚 victory, as Naomi Darom reported for the Monitor in November.

鈥淭he right is convinced that anything is possible now,鈥� Shlomi Eldar, a columnist for Al Monitor Israeli Pulse, told 海角大神 at the time. 鈥淭he two-state solution can be erased, there will be no problem building in the settlements 鈥� the Messiah has come.鈥�

鈥淭heir congratulations of Trump go beyond a symbolic gesture toward an elected president,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a feeling that, 鈥楬ere, we made it, and the sky鈥檚 the limit.鈥� 鈥�

But Netanyahu hasn鈥檛 been as outspoken as his far-right colleagues. The Israeli leader, accused of meddling in US politics in the 2012 presidential election and his address to Congress three years later, was very careful this time to not appear partisan.

But the prospect some right-wing Israelis are most excited about 鈥� the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem 鈥� could prove听a dangerous proposition. A number of Arab ambassadors to Washington have met with Trump advisers and warned them of the possible consequences. Former Secretary of State John Kerry said the move could lead to 鈥渁n absolute explosion鈥� in the region, and Israeli security forces have presented Netanyahu and senior ministers with听scenarios of should Trump announce the relocation of the US embassy, according to Haaretz.听

This report contains material from the Associated Press and Reuters.听