U.S. President Donald Trump has not yet decided whether to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital or whether he will order the U.S. Embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to the holy city, his senior adviser says.
On December 3, Jared Kushner, who is also the president’s son-in-law, said Trump was continuing to consider his options ahead of an announcement, expected on December 5 or 6.
"The president is going to make his decision," Kushner said at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "He is still looking at a lot of different facts."
Kushner's comments come after reports by U.S. media on December 1 that Trump was on the verge of making the announcement to recognize Jerusalem as the capital, although he was seen as delaying any decision on actually moving the U.S. Embassy to the city.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Palestinians regard Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Israel has annexed East Jerusalem and declared all of the city as its capital, a move never recognized by the international community. Most countries have their embassies in Tel Aviv.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the embassy there.
Meanwhile, Jordan's foreign minister has warned of "dangerous consequences" if Washington recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
"Spoke with #US Secretary of State Tillerson on dangerous consequences of recognizing Jerusalem as capital of Israel. Such a decision would trigger anger across #Arab #Muslim worlds, fuel tension & jeopardise peace efforts," Ayman Safadi wrote on Twitter on December 3.
Based on reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, and the BBC