US-Israel resume talks on moving embassy to Jerusalem

Israel and the United States have resumed talks on the possibility of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Times of Israel quoted private sources as saying that, on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the issue of moving the embassy with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s advisor and son-in-law.

In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said that that talks with Kushner were constructive and substantive and Netanyahu expected that these talks would continue in the upcoming weeks.

The statement added that Netanyahu expressed his appreciation to Trump and his administration for its strong support for Israel.

On 23 January, Kushner arrived with US envoy to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, and US Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy, Dina Powell, on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority as part of the US administration’s attempt to revive the peace process.

Read: Trump delays moving US Embassy to Jerusalem

During the meeting, the embassy issue was raised by both sides in a broad and fruitful dialogue on a number of issues, according to a US source who witnessed the discussions on Sunday.

The source added, “There is no need to say that the administration’s policy is ‘when’, not ‘if’, in reference to US officials’ statements when they signed the decision to postpone moving the embassy and promised that the move will take place during the presidency of Trump.”

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Kushner told Netanyahu that Trump is very committed to help reach a peace agreement and thanked the prime minister for working with the White House to reach this goal.

He added, “We truly appreciate the commitment of the Prime Minister and his team in thoughtfully and respectfully engaging themselves with the manner in which the president asked them to do so.”

Right after the inauguration of Trump in January, the White House announced Washington’s desire to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Afterwards, Trump issued an order to postpone moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for six months.