Defense minister acknowledges clash with Washington over embassy move

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman appears to concede a clash with Washington over moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“Our stance has been clear over the years: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” he says, adding that the Trump White House is a “friendly administration.”

“And even among the greatest friends there are differences of opinion. This is not the first time we’ve had differences of opinion with the United States, on this question or any other,” he says, responding to a question on the proposed relocation at the start of the weekly Yisrael Beytenu faction meeting Monday.

You don’t need to “turn it into a fight or a tragedy,” he adds. “Here, too, you need to transcend your instincts and try and handle it in a respectful, organized fashion. Less in the media, more in private conversation.”

Liberman rebukes his fellow ministers for publicly going head-to-head with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the upcoming Trump visit, in an apparent reference to Education Minister Naftali Bennett.

“Every fight in the media doesn’t strengthen our position in negotiations — not with the Palestinians and not with the United States,” he says.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump was deliberating whether the embassy relocation would help or harm peace prospects, prompting Netanyahu to release a statement saying it will boost efforts, in that it will “shatter Palestinian fantasies” of Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

— Marissa Newman