White House press secretary Spicer says President Trump has yet to make a decision on relocating the embassy to Jerusalem now, but a report in Israel indicated that Trump had decided and that the U.S. Embassy would remain in Tel Aviv, at least for the upcoming 6 months.

By Elad Benari

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump has yet to reach a decision on whether or not to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Haaretz reported.

Trump only has one day left to make a decision, before he will have to either sign or not sign a presidential waiver that will delay the implementation of a 1995 decision by Congress to move the embassy.

Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv, Israel – Wikimedia Commons

The waiver has been signed by every U.S. President since 1995, and is valid for six months at a time. Former President Barack Obama signed the latest waiver at the start of December and it is set to expire on Thursday. If Trump does not sign the waiver on Thursday, the U.S. government will be forced, by law, to begin the process of relocating the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Spicer was asked about the issue during Tuesday’s daily press briefing and said that Trump has not yet made up his mind.

“Once we have a decision we’ll let you know,” he said, according to Haaretz, adding no further details.

Trump promised during his election campaign to move the Embassy to Jerusalem, though a senior White House official recently said that the President has decided not to immediately move the Embassy due to the fact that attempts to revive peace talks with the Palestinian Authority were making progress.

A recent report in Israel indicated that Trump had decided that the U.S. Embassy in Israel would remain in Tel Aviv and not move to Jerusalem.

The White House later clarified, however, that “the president has not made a decision yet and is still reviewing that”.

View original Arutz Sheva publication at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/230389