President Donald Trump will recognize Yerushalayim as Israel’s capital and delay moving America’s embassy to that city, U.S. officials told NBC News.
According to the report, while Trump will not move the embassy this week, he intends to do so in the future.
Trump is expected to announce his decision in a midday speech on Wednesday, two days after the expiration of a six-month waiver that he signed in early June to delay the embassy move.
The Associated Press reported that during his speech, Trump will make a generic statement about Jerusalem’s status as the “capital of Israel,” but is not planning to use the phrase “undivided capital,” which is typically used by Israeli leaders to affirm sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump informed Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas of his “intention” to move the embassy. Abbas responded to Trump that the “firm” Palestinian position is that “there is no Palestinian state” without eastern Jerusalem as its capital, the PA news agency Wafa reported.
Trump also spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday. The Jordanian leader said the looming U.S. policy changes on Jerusalem “will have serious implications for security and stability in the Middle East, and will undermine the efforts of the American administration to resume the peace process and fuel the feelings of Muslims and Christians,” according to a statement from the royal palace in Amman.
Further, Abdullah spoke with Abbas and assured the PA leader of Jordan’s support for the Palestinians “in preserving their historic rights in Jerusalem and the need to work together to confront the consequences of this decision.”
Trump has faced pressure from other Muslim and world leaders to not move the embassy. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a “red line” that would force Turkey to cut off relations with the Jewish state, while Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, head of the Arab League, warned of “repercussions” if Jerusalem policy changes are made. French President Emmanuel Macron said the status of Jerusalem should be determined through negotiations.
Meanwhile, the PA-ruling Fatah party and the Hamas terror group announced three “days of rage” in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza over Trump’s decision.
The U.S. State Department ordered government employees to avoid Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank due to expected Palestinian violence. JNS.ORG
{Matzav.com Israel}
