Trump administration backs down on embassy move

PNN/ Jerusalem/

The Trump administration on Monday has expressed cautions regarding moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem following wide criticism and threats fromthe PLO to revoke recognition of Israel if such move is made.
The Trump administration is now expressing caution, promising only to review the matter extensively and in consultation with “stakeholders” in the conflict, the Jpost said.
That process tracks closely with the policy evolutions of two prior presidents, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, who also campaigned on a pledge to move the embassy. Both ultimately reversed course while in their first terms office.
“If it were already a decision, then we wouldn’t be going through a process,” Sean Spicer, the new White House press secretary, said in his first press briefing on Monday. He declined to commit the administration to moving the embassy by the end of Trump’s term, four years from now. “His team is going to continue to consult with stakeholders as we get there.”
The Trump statements on moving the embassy were widely denounced, both by Palestinian and international officials.
The PLO on Monday threatened to revoke recognition of Israel if the embassy is moved.
Following the Paris peace conference, the French foreign minister on Sunday saud that the Trump administration proposal to move the American embassy to Jerusalem would be a provocation with serious consequences.

“Of course (it’s a provocation). I think he would not be able to do it,” Jean-Marc Ayrault told France 3 television amid a conference on the Middle East peace process in Paris. “It would have extremely serious consequences and it’s not the first time that it’s on the agenda of a U.S. president, but none have let themselves make that decision. “One cannot have such a clear-cut, unilateral position. You have to create the conditions for peace,”

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