Trump inches closer to moving US embassy to Jerusalem

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - President Donald Trump is preparing to move the U.S.'s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and declare the city Israel's “undivided” capital, according to multiple reports Thursday.

Trump faces an early December deadline to determine if he will make the move or seek a six-month waiver from Congress that all prior administrations have taken after the Jerusalem Embassy Act became law in 1995.

Under the act, presidents must certify to Congress every six months it is in the U.S.'s national security interests to leave the embassy in Tel Aviv rather than move it to Jerusalem that is claimed by Israel and Palestine.

Trump is likely to sign the waiver again, officials reportedly said. One option Trump could take would be to declare Jerusalem Israel's capital while delaying the physical move of the embassy for months or years.

A White House spokesman told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity that Trump "is still considering options and we have nothing to announce.

"The President has always said it is a matter of when, not if," the spokesman said in a statement.

The move, should Trump take it, would almost certainly derail any resumption in peace talks with the Palestinians who seek the east of the city as their future capital. It would also roil Arab states who have been urging Trump to refrain from following through on his campaign promise to relocate the embassy.

Trump could announce his decision on Jerusalem's status as early as next week during a speech he is expected to deliver on Israel.

The administration has begun notifying embassies of the plan so they can prepare for possible protests, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Jerusalem has been occupied by Israel since 1967 when it emerged the victor in a war with Arab states. The city's final status has been a matter of dispute ever since, and the international community has insisted that it only be determined in final status negotiations with the Palestinians.

But Israel has nevertheless claimed the city as its capital in a move not recognized by the international community.

The State Department said no decision has been made.

"You know the president has said that he's given serious consideration to the matter and we're looking at it with great care," spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.