Tillerson: Trump weighs embassy move impact on Mideast peace

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Jerusalem’s status is one of the most emotionally charged issues in the conflict, with both sides laying claims. Israel captured east Jerusalem — claimed by Palestinians for the capital of a future independent state — from Jordan in 1967 and annexed it, a move not internationally recognized.

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U.S. presidents of both parties have repeatedly waived a U.S. law requiring the embassy be moved to Jerusalem. The most recent waiver — signed by former President Barack Obama — expires on June 1. Trump is expected to sign a six-month renewal of the waiver before it expires, as he continues deliberating.

In another sign the White House is proceeding cautiously, Trump’s ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, plans to work out of the current embassy in Tel Aviv rather than out of the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, as some had urged him to do. Friedman, who owns an apartment in Jerusalem, is expected to live in the U.S. ambassador’s official residence in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herziliya.

Palestinians argue moving the embassy would prejudge one of the most sensitive issues in the conflict, undermining America’s status as an effective mediator. There have been some signs that the Israeli government, while publicly supportive of moving the embassy, has quietly raised concerns that doing so could enflame the political and security situation.

In a statement to the media Sunday, Netanyahu claimed that moving the embassy would be good for peace.

“Israel’s position has been stated many times to the American government and to the world,” he said.

“Moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem would not only not harm the peace process, rather the opposite. It would advance it by amending a historic wrong and by shattering the Palestinian fantasy that Jerusalem isn’t the capital of Israel.”

There was no immediate Palestinian reaction.

In the interview, Tillerson downplayed suggestions that the U.S. needed to deal decisively with Russia’s interference in the U.S. election before it could pursue better relations with Moscow. Though Tillerson said he’d seen the intelligence implicating Russia and believed there was no question Russia meddled, he said it was just one of a “broad range of important issues that have to be addressed in the U.S.-Russia relationship.”

He said the notion of a “reset” with Russia — which both Obama and President George W. Bush pursued — was misguided.

“You cannot erase the past. You cannot start with a clean state,” Tillerson said “We’re starting with the slate we have, and all the problems we have are in that slate.”

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AP writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Josh Lederman, The Associated Press