US president predicts decision ‘in not too distant future,’ but wants to give proposal US is formulating a chance to work first
US President Donald Trump said Saturday he will not consider moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem until an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan his administration is working on is given a chance to succeed.
Appearing on a show hosted by former Arkansan Governor Mike Huckabee on the TBN network, Trump said a decision on moving the embassy would be made “in the not too distant future,” but also indicated it would have to wait for the results of a nascent peace proposal being formulated by the US.
“I want to give that a shot before I even think about moving the embassy to Jerusalem,” Trump said.
Trump promised to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem while on the campaign trail, but like other American presidents has balked at actually making the move, with officials and analysts predicting doing so could lead to increased tensions in the region and hurt chances for peace efforts.
The Trump administration has been working on a peace plan it is expected to unveil in the coming months, though details about the proposal have been scarce.
The president said the White House is working on a plan but despite making reaching what he calls “the ultimate deal” a central plank of his foreign policy, did not show robust confidence in the interview with Huckabee that it would lead to actual peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
“We’re working on a plan that everybody says will never work,” he said. “If that doesn’t work, which it’s possible that it won’t, to be totally honest, most people say it’s an impossible deal. I don’t think it is impossible, and I think it’s something that can happen, and I’m not making any predictions.”
He added that he believed peace between Israel and the Palestinians would lead to a wider regional peace, “which has to happen.”
According to reports, the plan may include a regional diplomatic initiative involving Israel normalizing relations with Arab states.
Trump met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last month and reportedly urged him not to pursue any unilateral moves until the US unveils its plan. Trump also reportedly told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the plan as well during a separate meeting on the sidelines of the world summit in New York.
White House officials have made several trips to the region in recent months, though itineraries indicate they have spent more time meeting Israeli officials than Palestinians, with Ramallah reportedly losing hope that the administration will deal them a fair hand. The Trump administration has taken a much softer line toward settlements than past administrations and has refrained from committing to a two-state solution, breaking with decades of US foreign policy.
In late May, Trump signed a waiver allowing him to delay moving the embassy for six months. He will need to decide on signing the waiver again in late November.
‘You will see what I do with nuke deal’
In his interview with Huckabee, Trump also called the Iran nuclear deal “terrible” and said it should never have been made, but seemed to indicate he would not necessarily dismantle it.
Trump is scheduled to report to Congress by October 14 on whether Iran is complying with the deal. He is widely expected to decertify Iranian compliance, but not actually pull the US out of the pact.
“I can tell you I’m very unhappy with the deal. The spirit is not there. They are literally causing trouble,” he said, accusing the Islamic Republic of working with North Korea. “You will see what I will be doing… Iran is a bad player and they will be taken care of as a bad player.”
Analysts have warned that decertifying the deal to Congress could give US lawmakers an opening to impose new sanctions on Iran, which could cause the pact to collapse. Under the 2015 deal, reached by six world powers and Iran, Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for sanctions relief.
On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Trump could not get rid of the deal.
“We have achieved benefits that are irreversible. Nobody can roll them back, neither Trump, nor 10 other Trumps,” Rouhani said, addressing students at Tehran University.
Aiming to show tough action against Iran, the White House is preparing a series of measures targeting its affiliates in the country and beyond.
New actions to be announced in the coming days will focus on two entities: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, the Shiite terrorist group blamed for sowing discord in the Middle East and seeking Israel’s demise.
The actions include financial sanctions on anyone who does business with the Revolutionary Guard, as well as millions of dollars in rewards for information leading to the arrest of two operatives of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
The measures were described by two administration officials and a person familiar with the unfolding policy on Iran. The administration officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the actions before they are officially announced. The third person was not authorized to speak about private conversations.
The moves allow Trump to show he is not easing the pressure against the Islamic Republic, even though the nuclear deal he has long derided may live on — at least for the immediate future.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I suggested this on these pages about 3 days before this report came out, and that he might find that some “deals” just cannot be made. It seemed obvious to me. He wants that “:deal”, and when I now see that he is no longer positive, but want;s to “give it a shot”, that’s confirmation of my thoughts. He is certain to move the Embassy but at his time of deciding not ours. One might say that the Embassy moving time is in the hands of the Arab murdering liars, after they’ve been given enough rope to hand themselves. This President doesn’t mess around. He’ll act promptly once he sees the result of Arab “peace”.
I am usually sceptical of most political news that comes out, often in dribs and drabs, but I would bet money on the Embassy removal at some time, probably, as I originally pointed out, in about a year, after he gives the Mamzerim time enough to show their lack of probity and love of lies.
As I said in another place, Trump has been swallowed by the Swamp that he was supposed to drain, at least in foreign policy regarding Israel and the Midle East, via the State Department, that has a tradition of being anti-Israel. The current policy from this Administration is EXACTLY THE SAME as the Obama Administration, only with less direct confrontation.
The proof? Once again, we have a “peace process”, they are demanding a freeze in construction in Judea and Samaria (does it ring a bell?) they are doing NOTHING to the palestinians, even after Trump personally asked Abbas to stop funding the terrorist prisioners. What did Abbas do? He declared adamantly he WON’T do it. What did Trump do? He stayed SILENT to this day! And of course, instead of moving the Embassy as promised, now he uses it as a way to pressure Israel.
The ONLY good thing (wonderful, indeed) he has done, was naming Nikki Halley to the UN, because she demanded complete freedom from the State Department, and Trump agreed. She has been the main defender of Israel in the rotten UN. And we must be thankful for that.
@ Russell:
Hi, Russell
I agree with you and with Bear Klein, that Trump seems willing to scrap the embassy move (and US support of Israel, for that matter) in exchange for a worthless “peace” accord with the Palestinians.
Bear mentioned Jared Kushner. As things have stood since Trump took office, Kushner is the point man for any ME “peace” accord; and he stands to benefit more than anyone on the planet to have been the interlocutor of such an agreement. He may say what he may along the way, seemingly in support of Israel; but in the end, Kushner is for Kushner.
The power equation in Washington, DC, is a complicated affair; and I do not have a crystal ball to predict how things will turn out. As it stands, there seem to be three groups that matter and one that doesn’t.
Groups that matter:
1. Jared and Ivanka, who have personal, very close ties to George Soros, Henry Kissinger, Bill Gates, Tim Allen, Elon Musk and all the real movers and shakers in the world (and a personal friendship with B. Netanyahu),
2. Donald Trump, President of the US, and
3. Various appointees, such as Mr. Tillerson, Gen. Jones, Gen. McMaster, Gen. Mattis and Gen. Dunfordm (This reads more like a junta than like a presidency).
My money is on Kusher, the man who paid the highest price in the world for his company’s flagship property at 666 Fifth Avenue in NYC. He is a religious, Sabbath-observing Jew, which probably will put him off the scent of most of his co-religionists. That makes him, more than others, likely to be the one who can sway even Israeli Jewish opinion (where it matters, at the top) into selling out their homeland. But consider this:
Compare Wonder-child, super-successful businessman and social climber Kushner, to Stephen Paddock EVEN MOMENTS BEFORE he began the mass murder of 58 innocent people (actually not that large a number, as massacres go). Until that moment, NONE of the people who knew him closely — girlfriend, brothers, tenants, etc.– had the slightest idea he was capable of such evil. You spoke of “sinful” men. I posit, that we have no idea who is sinful and who isn’t, until the hidden truth reveals itself.
Trump is obviously being guided by slimy politicians, they never do anything without one or more alternate or hidden agendas. It is so sad that straightforward promise such as the moving of the Embassy gets delayed, then embroiled in other unrelated, insignificant or in this case totally impossible issues. Is the Embassy move going to become dependent on a fake peace deal with Arabs that they don’t want and won’t keep or is it going to land on a negotiating table and be exchanged for yet another promise from people who never keep their promises?. Just do it Mr Trump and be the man you said you were. Do what G-d says you must do and stop listening to sinful men.
Yes, a P. State was rejected. Trump is finished. The Styroform Tiger, or Ass. Kushner is no better, including his daughter. The wife is respectable.
We were hoping that Trump would drive a stake through the two state solution but we were wrong. No matter what Trump says this is the solution the administration is pushing. We should be thankful to the Palestinians rejecting this idea even when Israeli leftists were offering them half of Israel on a silver platter.
So Trump basically lied about moving the embassy to Jerusalem. He is not even thinking about it. His illusions about a peace deal reflect very badly on him and show his still lack of knowledge about the Arabs and Palestinians.
His over sized ego makes him believe that he can solve the Arab – Israeli conflict over 100+ years. Kushner said it correctly what are they bringing to the table differently than past administrations.
Trump was supposed pro Israel! He is not anti-Israel which Obama was and certainly Hillary would have been. So in that sense he was the better choice. It is really a shame that the best choice in the end was Trump.