Even under Trump, US in no hurry to move Israel embassy

It might have sounded the death knell for an already moribund Middle East peace process, but Donald Trump seems to have delayed plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

The new US president campaigned for office on a long-standing Washington plan to move its main mission to Israel to the city that remains the focus of its conflict with the Palestinians.

To have done so would have been read by many as a signal that Washington supports Israel's claim on Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of the Jewish state.

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“The Israelis are obviously in favor of the move,” said Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative think tank.

“But I got the sense from Israeli officials on a visit in January that the Israelis are willing to tread slowly.”

Schanzer said his impression was that Israel would not push on the embassy issue if it is assured that Washington remains loyal to its primary security objectives in the region.

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