TRUMP TELLS ABBAS HE’LL MOVE HIS ISRAEL EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM
MIDDLE EAST
Vociferous Arab and Muslim opposition was building Tuesday to any possible U. S. recognition of contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, as European leaders expressed concern about harm to fragile Middle East peace efforts.
President Donald Trump informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a phone call Tuesday that he intends to move the U. S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a holy city whose Israeli- annexed eastern sector the Palestinians seek as a future capital.
Abbas’s office said the Palestinian leader warned Trump of dangerous repercussions for Middle East peace efforts, as well as security and stability in the region and the world.
The statement did not say if Trump gave a timeline for the intended move.
U. S. officials familiar with planning for a possible announcement on Jerusalem said they expect Trump to speak to the matter around midday Wednesday, al - though the specifics of what he will say were still being debated.
The officials, along with an outside adviser to the administration, said they expected Trump would make a generic statement about Jerusalem’s status as the capital of Israel.
They said they did not expect the president to use the phrase “undivided capital,” which would imply Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem.