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Trump says US embassy to stay in Tel Aviv, for now

Despite backlash from pro-Israeli supporters in the US and abroad, many global leaders approve of the decision to postpone the move to avoid turmoil before Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

First Look

President Trump signed a temporary order on Thursday to keep the United States embassy in Israel in Tel Aviv instead of relocating it to聽Jerusalem, despite his campaign pledge to go ahead with the controversial move.

After months of fierce debate within his administration, Mr. Trump chose to continue his predecessors' policy of signing a six-month waiver overriding a 1995 law requiring that the embassy be transferred to聽Jerusalem, an action that would have complicated his efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The White House insisted, however, that the decision, which is sure to disappoint Israel's US supporters, did not mean Trump was abandoning the goal of eventually shifting the embassy to Jerusalem. But a US official said no timetable has been set.

"The question is not if that move happens, but only when," the White House said in a statement.

With a deadline looming, Trump made the decision to defer action on the embassy 鈥渢o maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, fulfilling his solemn obligation to defend America's national security interests,鈥� the White House said.

Palestinian leaders, Arab governments, and Western allies had urged Trump not to proceed with the embassy relocation, which would have upended decades of US policy by granting what would have been seen as de facto US recognition of Israel鈥檚 claim to all of聽Jerusalem聽as its capital.

"Though Israel is disappointed that the embassy will not move at this time, we appreciate today's expression of President Trump鈥檚 friendship to Israel and his commitment to moving the embassy in the future," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

Taking a harder stance, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, a far-right member of Netanyahu's coalition, said delaying the move would "damage the prospect of a lasting peace by nurturing false expectations among the Palestinians regarding the division of聽Jerusalem, which will never happen."

Nabil Abu Rdainah, a close aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Trump's decision "reaffirms the seriousness of the United States in its efforts to achieve peace."

No mention of embassy

Trump avoided any public mention of a potential embassy move during his visit to Israel and the West Bank in May. Despite that, most experts are skeptical of Trump鈥檚 chances for achieving a peace deal that had eluded other US presidents.

The status of聽Jerusalem聽is one of the major stumbling blocks. Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem聽during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it, a move not recognized internationally. Israel considers all of the city its indivisible capital.

The Palestinians want East聽Jerusalem聽as the capital of their future state.聽Jerusalem聽is home to sites considered holy by the Jewish, Muslim, and 海角大神 religions.

Successive US administrations have insisted that聽Jerusalem鈥檚 status must be decided in negotiations.

On the campaign trail, Trump's pro-Israel rhetoric raised expectations that he would act quickly to move the embassy. But after he took office in January, the issue lost momentum as he met Arab leaders who warned it would be hard to rejuvenate long-stalled peace efforts unless he acted as a fair mediator. Some of Trump's top aides pushed for him to keep his campaign promise to satisfy the pro-Israel, right-wing base that helped him win the presidency. The State Department, however recommended against an embassy move, one US official said.

鈥淣o one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the president's strong support for Israel," according to the White House statement on the signing of the waiver.