Jerusalem mayor, minister hail Trump over embassy move overtures
As US stresses talk of relocation is at 'very beginning stages,' right-wing politicians praise US president, 'a leader who keeps his promises'
Israeli politicians on Sunday hailed US President Donald Trump for considering moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as the White House said talk of the measure was in its preliminary stages.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Sunday said “we are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject.”
While far from a full announcement of the move, as some had expected would be in the offing, the statement still represented the most serious commitment by a sitting US president to transfer the embassy, a move Israeli officials have pushed for over decades.
Like many presidential candidates, Trump promised to make the embassy move. But previous presidents have avoided following through on that pledge in part because of concerns that it would inflame tensions in the Middle East.
In Israel, the statement — which came hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump held their first phone conversation since the inauguration — was interpreted as confirmation that the embassy would be moved.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat was quick to praise the initiative.
“I applaud President Trump on his historic announcement that the White House has begun discussions regarding moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem,” he said.
“President Trump has proven that he is a true friend of the State of Israel and a leader who keeps his promises. This evening’s announcement has sent a clear message to the world that the US recognizes Jerusalem as the indivisible capital of the State of Israel. We will provide any and all necessary assistance to the US administration to ensure that the embassy move is done seamlessly and efficiently,” said Barkat.
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) posted on Facebook that he “welcomed the Trump administration making the initial steps of turning a campaign promise into a reality. A united Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel according to Israeli law.”
Meanwhile, Culture Minister Miri Regev (Likud) told the president that it was “time to act.”
“As he said in his inauguration speech, ‘We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action — constantly complaining but never doing anything about it,'” she posted on Facebook. “It is time to act and with the help of God we will do many good things together, for Israel and for the world.”
MK Shuli Moalem-Refaeli of the Jewish Home party said the statement proves Trump “knows how to keep his word.”
“Israel must seize this historic opportunity to advance measures to show Israeli independence,” she said. “The Arabs can continue to threaten. They refuse to recognize the State of Israel as a Jewish state or Jerusalem as its capital.”
Jerusalem’s deputy mayor Dov Kalmanovich said with regard to moving the embassy, “We want this, we are preparing the territory and we will help in any way we can.”
It was not immediately clear if Kalmanovich was speaking literally of works to arrange for the construction of a new US Embassy.
Palestinian and Arab leaders have warned that relocating the embassy could lead to mass protests and unrest.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has indicated he could revoke the PLO’s recognition of Israel and Abbas’s Fatah party warned the move “would open the gates of hell.”
In 1995, Congress adopted a resolution, led by former House speaker and current Trump confidant Newt Gingrich, that called on the president to move the embassy. But each presidency since then has repeatedly used the prerogative granted to them to delay implementation of that demand.
The current waiver expires in May 2017.