Thursday, June 1st., 2017
Israeli PM 'Disappointed' Over Trump's Decision to Keep US Embassy in Tel Aviv
Israeli PM 'Disappointed' Over Trump's Decision to Keep US Embassy in Tel Aviv
©
REUTERS/ Ariel Schalit/Pool
Israel
is disappointed that US President Donald Trump has decided to keep the
US embassy in Tel Aviv rather than moving it to Jerusalem, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Thursday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Trump renewed a waiver
that will temporarily keep the US embassy in Tel Aviv instead of moving
it to Jerusalem, which Israel considers its capital city.
The
White House said in a statement that Trump's decision should not be
regarded as a retreat from the president's "strong support for Israel."
According to the statement, the decision has been made to maximize
the chances of reaching an agreement between Israel and Palestine.
While US-Israeli ties had deteriorated during Barack Obama's presidency, they have been given a new impetus under Trump's leadership with the US president calling the Iranian nuclear agreement brokered by Obama administration among others a "bad deal for Israel" and promising to transfer the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as part of his campaign pledge.
Recently, Trump visited Israel and met Netanyahu with the Israeli prime minister visiting Washington very soon after US president's inauguration.
"Israel's consistent position is that the
American embassy…should be in Jerusalem, our eternal capital,"
Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "Though Israel is disappointed
that the embassy will not move at this time, we appreciate today's
expression of President Trump's friendship to Israel and his commitment
to moving the embassy in the future.
©
AP Photo/ Pablo Martinez Monsivais
While US-Israeli ties had deteriorated during Barack Obama's presidency, they have been given a new impetus under Trump's leadership with the US president calling the Iranian nuclear agreement brokered by Obama administration among others a "bad deal for Israel" and promising to transfer the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as part of his campaign pledge.
Recently, Trump visited Israel and met Netanyahu with the Israeli prime minister visiting Washington very soon after US president's inauguration.