By Karen DeYoung:
Meanwhile, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said that Trump was a “true friend” to Israel, referring to a reported statement by Trump press secretary Sean Spicer that the administration was at the “very beginning stages” of discussing a move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“We will offer them all the assistance necessary,” Barkat said in a statement. “The U.S. has sent a message to the world that it recognizes Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel.”
No country in the world has its Israel embassy in Jerusalem, which is also claimed by the Palestinians as their capital. While Congress long ago passed a resolution ordering the move, both Republican and Democratic presidents have repeatedly waived the order on national security grounds.
Trump pledged during his campaign to move the embassy, and his designated ambassador to Israel, New York bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, has called the move a “big priority” for the new administration.
The Full Story (January 22, 2017)
[Editor: there's a new tag moving forward, "Middle East"]
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