US President Donald Trump will only announce in the next few days whether he has decided to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, even though last night marked the deadline for signing a waiver to the United States’ Jerusalem Act of 1995, that postpones the embassy’s move by six months. Sources in Washington confirmed to TV7 that no decision had yet been made and noted that the president’s advisers had prepared a variety of “creative options,” yet no one knew what the president would decide on the matter. Nevertheless, the sources further confirmed that a decision could be expected by tomorrow.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke last night with his American Counterpart Donald Trump, and voiced concern with regard to the possibility that Washington would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The French leader warned that such a decision was premature and could lead to devastating consequences across the Arab world.
To assure the security of American diplomatic missions across the region, the Trump administration has instructed its delegations, mainly the consulates and embassies in the Middle East, to be on alert due to concern of demonstrations against American institutions.
The Israeli security establishment is also preparing for the possibility of an outburst of Palestinian violence, mainly in Jerusalem, in wake the President Trump’s imminent decision. Situation assessment meetings were held in the last few days with the participation of the police, the domestic intelligence agency and the Central Command to prepare for a wave of disturbances and terror attacks, similar to those that took place in October of 2015. The assessment of Israeli security officials is that the Palestinian protest will be expressed both in actions of organizations as well as by an increase of terror by individuals, which has recently dropped.