Embassy decision coming 'after Trump visit,' US official says
Will Trump keep his campaign promise to move the US embassy to Jerusalem?
By MICHAEL WILNERPresident Donald Trump (R) greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint news conference at the White House. (photo credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump will decide whether to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after visiting the region next week, and based in part on what he learns on the ground, a US official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.The official spoke on the matter one day after Bloomberg reported that Trump had already decided against the move.Trump campaigned on a promise to relocate the embassy — a move that would roil the Arab world, but elate the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the conservative American Jewish organizations that have been consulting his White House."Contrary to media reports, President Trump has not yet made a decision on moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and doesn't plan on making a decision on this issue until after his visit," the official said.The Jerusalem Embassy Act, a law passed in 1995, requires the president to move the embassy as soon as he deems it appropriate. Presidents of both parties have waived the requirement twice each year since 1998. The next deadline for such a waiver is June 1.