US in ‘very beginning of even talking about embassy move’

The Trump Administration is only in the beginning stages of discussing moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Sunday.

The statement contrasted with reports over the last several weeks that the announcement of the move could come as early as this week, but also confirmed that the administration intends to at least seriously entertain the move, despite warnings from the international community that it could significantly ramp up tensions in the volatile region.

“We are at the very beginning stages of even discussing this subject,” Spicer said in a statement Sunday, according to Reuters.

The statement came about an hour before Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were set to hold their first phone conversation since Trump became president Friday.

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 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 was interpreted as confirmation that the embassy would be moved.

“US Embassy on the way to Jerusalem,” read a chyron at the top of Channel 2’s main news program at 8 p.m.

Several Israeli officials quickly reacted to the statement by thanking Trump for transfering the embassy from Tel Aviv.

“Trump proves that he is a true friend of the state of Israel that makes good on his promises,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement.

Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin said he “welcomed the Trump administration making the campaign promise a reality.”

Trump vowed to move the embassy during his address at last year’s AIPAC Policy Conference, and he has indicated during his transition that he will follow through on that promise.

However, the plan has brought warnings of far-reaching diplomatic repercussions, as well as the possibility of violence.

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.”

On Thursday, Spicer told reporters to “stay tuned” and that “there will be a further announcement on that,” when asked about the possibility of the embassy move.

In December, reports emerged that Trump’s advisers were already in the process of planning the relocation, though Spicer’s statement seemed to counter that narrative.

Campaign manager and soon-to-be White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has said it is “a very big priority for him.”

Earlier on Sunday, Channel 2 News reported that a Trump administration announcement on moving the embassy could come on Monday morning.

Israeli officials have loudly pushed for the embassy move, seeing it as long-sought US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The move will “send a clear message to the world that Jerusalem is the united capital of the State of Israel,” Barkat said in a message last week.

On Friday, a large billboard appeared in a residential neighborhood of the city thanking Trump for the move.

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.

Each president since then, including Obama, has maintained that the future status of Jerusalem should be settled in final negotiations between the parties, as both Israelis and Palestinians claim the holy city as their rightful capital.

Israeli daily Israel Hayom on Thursday morning quoted Trump saying that he “did not forget” about the commitment he made as a candidate. “You know that I am not a person who breaks promises,” he said.

On Thursday, Spicer supplemented those remarks in his press conference, saying, “The president has made clear that Israel has not gotten the respect it deserves,” he said.

Eric Cortellessa, AP contributed to this report