(White House) President Donald Trump - "In 1995, Congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act, urging the federal government to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize that that city...is Israel's capital....Yet, for over 20 years, every previous American president has exercised the law's waiver, refusing to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital city." "After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result. Therefore, I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel." "I've judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians....Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital." "Jerusalem is the seat of the modern Israeli government. It is the home of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, as well as the Israeli Supreme Court. It is the location of the official residence of the Prime Minister and the President." "Today, we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. This is nothing more, or less, than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It's something that has to be done....I am also directing the State Department to begin preparation to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem." "This decision is not intended, in any way, to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement....We are not taking a position on any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem....The United States would support a two-state solution if agreed to by both sides."
2017-12-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive