US President Donald Trump said he was thinking “seriously” about moving the US embassy in the Zionist entity to Al-Quds (Jerusalem), a move fiercely opposed by the Palestinians.
In the interview published in Hebrew by the Israel Hayom newspaper, Trump also said he does not believe Israeli settlement growth in Palestinian territories is “good for peace”, in his most direct comments on the matter since inauguration.
Speaking to the newspaper ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington next week, Trump was quoted as saying he was “not someone who believes that advancing settlements is good for peace”.
The international community considers settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Al-Quds illegal and says they risk destroying hopes for peace with the Palestinians.
Trump’s administration, however, has been largely silent as Tel Aviv has announced more than 6,000 new homes in settlements in recent weeks, in stark contrast to criticism from predecessor Barack Obama.
Trump was also quoted by Israel Hayom as saying he was “studying” plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv.
He said he was thinking “very seriously” about the controversial relocation, which he committed to before taking office, stressing it was not an “easy decision”.
No English transcript of the interview was published.
Source: AFP
