Israeli Prime Minister: US and Other Embassies Should Be in Jerusalem

The Israeli Prime Minister stated, "Not only the US embassy but also the embassies of other countries in Israel should be in Jerusalem." According to Israeli media, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, January 29, during a cabinet meeting, "Israel's firm position has always been that the US embassy should be in Jerusalem." This is the first time in nearly two years that Netanyahu has publicly commented on this issue. Donald Trump criticized previous US administrations' policy of refraining from moving the US embassy to Jerusalem since the beginning of his election campaign. He referred to Jerusalem as the "eternal and undivided capital of the Jewish people" during a speech at AIPAC, stating that the US embassy should be moved there. However, in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News aired on January 27, he said, "It is still too early to talk about moving the embassy to Jerusalem." Sean Spicer, the White House spokesperson, stated last week that the issue of moving the embassy is "in the early stages of review." Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, the US embassy has been located in Tel Aviv. The 1995 congressional resolution regarding the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem has been suspended by both Republican and Democratic presidents. The embassies of all other countries that have relations with Israel are also in Tel Aviv. A few countries that initially established their embassies in Jerusalem have moved them to Tel Aviv in recent decades to support a unified global policy on this issue. Palestinian Authority officials have warned in recent days about the "consequences" of a potential US embassy move to "Jerusalem." Several Arab and Islamic countries, as well as Western leaders, have urged Trump not to fulfill this promise over the past week. However, according to reports, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's Defense Minister, spoke by phone on January 27 with General James Mattis, the new US Defense Secretary, stating that the US should also recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Previous US administrations have emphasized the necessity of Palestinian statehood alongside Israel since the introduction of the two-state solution by Republican George Bush in 2002. Israel has controlled East Jerusalem since the 1967 war, but Palestinians, with the support of the international community, argue that East Jerusalem should be the capital of an independent Palestinian state.