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US-Israel tensions ahead of Trump visit
Fox News reported yesterday that Israel’s Prime Minister told the US President not to move the US embassy to Jerusalem when they met at the White House in February.
Fox News foreign affairs reporter Conor Powell tweeted: “Everyone I’ve spoken to in DC who has been briefed on Jerusalem Embassy move says Netanyahu told Trump not to move embassy at this time.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was already under pressure from his right-wing coalition partners to press President Trump on the issue. Netanyahu issued a statement supporting the idea. He said moving the US embassy to Jerusalem would boost peace efforts by making clear to the Palestinians that Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish state.
After the Fox News report the Prime Minister’s Office took the unusual step of releasing minutes from the Netanyahu-Trump meeting in February to prove that the Prime Minister supports the US embassy move.
The transcript read: “The Prime Minister was asked about the embassy and explained [that moving it] would not lead to bloodshed in the region, as some were trying to intimidate [President Trump] into believing.”
The Prime Minister’s Office also released a summary of a meeting between Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor-designate Michael Flynn on 16 January. The summary said that “[Dermer] explained why moving the embassy would help advance peace and not the opposite,” and that “this is the clear and consistent position of Prime Minister Netanyahu”.
Israeli and US teams discussing arrangements for President Trump’s visit ran into difficulty after a senior White House official told a member of the Israel team that the Western Wall was part of the West Bank. The comment was in response to an Israeli request for Prime Minister Netanyahu to join President Trump when he visits the Western Wall.
The new US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, arrived in Israel yesterday and his first visit was to the Western Wall where he said he “prayed for the president. I wished him success, especially on his upcoming trip”.