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US Congressman: Trump is ‘man of his word,’ will move embassy to Jerusalem

Speaking in Jerusalem, US Congressman Ron DeSantis said he believes Trump will move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, expressing excitement after surveying several possible new locations.

President Donald Trump will fulfill his previously stated plan to move the US embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to US Congressman from Florida Ron DeSantis, who arrived in Israel over the weekend with a Congressional delegation to survey several prospective new sites for the US embassy.

“Knowing the President as a man of his word, I don’t think he’s going to sign the waiver on the same month where people here in Jerusalem are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem Day,” DeSantis said at a press conference Sunday at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel.

The waiver referenced by the Congressman refers to the authority granted to the US president, in the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act of 1995, to sign a six-month waiver that would postpone moving the US embassy to Jerusalem indefinitely.

“(Trump) is in a position where he’s either going to follow his campaign promises or he’s going to actually have to sign this waiver,” he continued, referring to the waiver’s upcoming expiration date around the end of May.

However, DeSantis believes Trump will let the waiver expire, legally mandating the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem.

“I think (the embassy move) is going to happen and I wanted to come out here to look at some of the sites that people have discussed,” DeSantis said.

Among the several US embassy relocation sites considered by DeSantis and his delegation  to be the most feasible is the US Consulate section in southeastern Jerusalem.

“My sense is that probably the (US) Consulate section is the most ready building to do an embassy,” he suggested.

Not worried about adverse Arab reaction

The congressman also discounted fears conveyed by the likes of former US Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the potential of regional unrest in response to a decision by the US to move its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“My sense is that when you look at some of the issues that bind our country with some of the Arab Gulf states who may not philosophically agree with this, their main concern is not Jerusalem right now,” he contended. “It’s Iran’s influence. It’s some of the other security threats they face.”

“And when you’re dealing with the Arab world, I think it’s important to project decisiveness and strength,” he added. “By Trump following through with it, I think some of these other Gulf countries and Arab countries will look at that and they’ll see a strong and decisive leader.”

Instead of expressing worry and concern about what some predict will be negative ramifications of moving the US embassy, DeSantis conveyed a sense of enthusiasm and eagerness.

“To see this happen 50 years after the liberation of Jerusalem is going to be exciting for a lot of people in the United States and I know it’s going to be very exciting for a lot of Israelis here,” he said.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News