Israel says "disappointed" with Trump's decision not to move US embassy

Israel said on Thursday that it's "disappointed" with US President Donald Trump's decision to postpone the moving of the US embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.


In an official statement, Israeli Prime Minister's Office accused Trump's decision of breaking his campaign promise and driving peace away.

According to the statement, keeping embassies outside Jerusalem, the city which Israel claims as its capital, "distances peace because it contributes to the revival of the Palestinian illusion that the Jewish people and its state have no connection to Jerusalem."

"The American embassy, like all other embassies, should be in Jerusalem," as the city is Israel's "eternal capital," the statement said.

Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, along with the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It later annexed East Jerusalem and declared it as part of its "eternal and indivisible capital," a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump signed a waiver delaying the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to US media reports.

During his presidential campaign, Trump made a provocative promise to move the embassy to Jerusalem, breaking a long-held American policy.

  [globaltimes.cn/Xinhua]

2/6/17