Trump Delays Transfer of US Embassy to Jerusalem for the Second Time

Donald Trump has, for the second time since the beginning of his presidency, deemed the fulfillment of his electoral promise to transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (Al-Quds) currently unfeasible. On Saturday evening, October 7, he stated in an interview with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee on TBN that he wants to give the peace process a chance before considering the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem. According to Reuters, the US President added in response to a question about whether he has a timeline for the embassy transfer that 'we will make a decision on this in the not-too-distant future.' Trump consistently defended the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem during his presidential campaign. He had stated that on the 'first day' of his presidency, he would sign the order to transfer the embassy to Jerusalem. However, four months ago, Donald Trump signed a temporary order stating that the US embassy in Israel would remain in Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, a White House statement in June emphasized that 'this should not be seen as a retreat from the President's strong support for Israel and the US-Israel alliance.' The US Congress passed the law to transfer the embassy to Jerusalem in 1995 during Bill Clinton's presidency, but all subsequent Democratic and Republican presidents have signed waivers every six months delaying the implementation of this law, and Trump has done the same. This summer marked the fiftieth anniversary of the 1967 war between Arabs and Israel, and half a century of Israeli control over East Jerusalem. Palestinians, with the support of the US and the international community, insist that East Jerusalem should be the capital of an independent state for Palestinians, while Israel has referred to Jerusalem as its 'unified and eternal capital' for the past fifty years. No countries in the world have embassies in Jerusalem, and all countries that have relations with Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv. Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, who has met with Trump three times during his ten months in office, emphasized after their last meeting last month in New York that he trusts the US President's efforts to achieve a 'historic agreement' and a 'deal of the century' between Israel and the Palestinians. However, the Haaretz newspaper reported on October 4 that Trump had said in a meeting last month with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that in his government's efforts to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Benjamin Netanyahu is the 'tougher side of the deal,' and convincing him to accept peace is 'much harder work.' According to Haaretz, Trump referred to both Netanyahu and Abbas as 'troublesome' but stated that 'generally, Netanyahu is a bigger problem.' Haaretz claimed to have prepared its report based on statements from six Western officials and one Israeli official, without naming them, but a senior White House official denied this. The US President himself said in the interview on Saturday night with Mike Huckabee on TBN, 'If we can achieve peace between the Palestinians and Israel, it will ultimately lead to peace in the Middle East, and that is important.' Trump added that his administration is working on a plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace that 'everyone says is the hardest and impossible deal, but I don't think so.' At the same time, Trump said, 'Honestly, I should also say that a deal may not be reached.'