Sides Prepare Strategies For and Against Moving the Embassy

Amid the abundant attacks on America’s new president is what some see as a compliment …albeit a distinctly left-handed one – that both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict believe it’s possible that President Trump will actually move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. While similar campaign promises by candidates Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were greeted with reactions that ranged from charges of abject pandering to a declaration of the candidate’s naivety in the area of foreign policy, regardless of whether one loves the new president or hates him, both sides believe it is within the realm of possibility that Donald Trump will “be the guy” that fulfills the pledge. To the Palestinians, to do so would be akin to throwing down the gauntlet and opening Pandora’s Box. To right-wing Israelis, it’s a sign of Messianic times while other countrymen cautiously appreciate being able to name one’s own capital but hope the predictions of a violent response don’t come to fruition. But neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians doubt that the new president is seeking a way to make it happen. While the Israelis – even the right wing is not blind to the inherent dangers of the move — are embracing mass speculation of ways it could happen without actually happening, Arab leaders are threatening without actually threatening. On Sunday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met in Amman with Jordanian King Abdullah II in a meeting devoted to “coordinating and articulating action points with one another to fight any steps that, if acted upon, would have severe ramifications.” Despite the close relationship of Jordan and the US, the king has pointedly failed to offer his congratulations to the new president. In another “cup half full” example, supporters of Israel were pleased with spokesman Sean Spicer’s characterization that it is in the early stages of talks on the embassy move while Palestinians were gratified to hear Spicer say it’s “only” the early stages — meaning there’s time to stop the move before it happens.