White House: Trump hasn’t decided on US embassy move

Trump has yet to decide if he will move the US embassy to Jerusalem, a White House spokesman clarified.

President Donald Trump has yet to decide if he will move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Wednesday.

Sanders was asked about a report originating from an Israeli news site earlier in the day that indicates Trump decided not to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“The President has not made a decision yet, and is still reviewing that,” Sanders stated.

She was then asked whether remarks made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday warning Trump against moving the embassy to Jerusalem has any influence on Trump’s decision.

“It is wrong,” Erdogan said. “Such a plan should be dropped.”

Sanders responded by stating she was “not going to get into the decision-making process here.”

“All I can tell you is that he’s still reviewing it, and as soon as we have a decision, I know we’ll be happy to report back to you guys,” she said.

Israel’s NRG news site reported that Trump has decided not to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, breaking his pre-election promise to his voters.

NRG also reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been updated on the move. The Prime Minister’s Office, however, denied the report.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office has not received any notice about a decision by the US government to move or not to move the US Embassy,” the PMO stated. “Israel’s stance is that all the embassies belong in Israel’s capital of Jerusalem, and the US Embassy should be one of the first to move.”

Fake News

Marc Zell, the chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel and a Vice President of Republicans Overseas, Inc., told Israel Radio on Thursday that NRG’s report was “fake news” and that he spoke to White House officials, who denied Trump made a decision.

While on the campaign trail and after his election victory, Trump repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy. On the Thursday before his inauguration, he told the Israel Hayom daily that he was not a person who breaks promises, including this particular commitment.

“Of course I remember what I said about Jerusalem,” Trump said at the time. “You know that I am not a person who breaks promises.”

Most recently, Vice President Mike Pence stated “the president of the United States, as we speak, is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News