川普決定暫將美駐以使館留在特拉維夫

Trump, in his long campaign for the presidency, vowed to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem to concur with the Israeli government's long-standing preference. But the issue is caught in the unending debate over the creation of separate Jewish and Palestinian states, with both the Israelis and Palestinians claiming Jerusalem as their capitals.

The White House said Thursday that Trump's decision to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv, where most other foreign governments also have stationed their Israeli diplomats, should not be considered "in any way a retreat from the president's strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel alliance."

The White House statement said Trump made the choice "to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians."

"As he has repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy," White House officials said, "the question is not if that move happens, but only when."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was disappointed with Trump's decision. However, Netanyahu said he hopes the U.S. embassy will eventually move to Jerusalem and that he appreciates the U.S. president's expression of friendship.

"Israel's consistent position is that the American embassy, like the embassies of all countries with whom we have diplomatic relations, should be in Jerusalem, our eternal capital," Netanyahu said.川普在總統競選中多次表示要將美國大使館遷往耶路撒冷，而以色列政府長期希望美國能這樣做。 但是，這個問題被捲入有關猶太人和巴勒斯坦人分別建國的無休止辯論之中。以色列和巴勒斯坦人都聲稱耶路撒冷是他們的首都。

白宮星期四說，大多數外國駐以色列使館都在特拉維夫。川普有關不遷館的決定不應被視爲“總統在強烈支持以色列和美以聯盟方面有任何退縮 ”。

白宮聲明說，川普做出了這樣的選擇，是“要將以色列和巴勒斯坦人成功談判達成協議的可能性最大化“。

白宮官員說，川普多次表示要遷移使館，“問題不是遷不遷，而是什麼時候遷”。

以色列總理內塔尼亞胡表示，他對川普的決定感到失望。 不過，內塔尼亞胡表示，希望美國大使館最終能遷往耶路撒冷，並讚賞川普總統的友好表示。

內塔尼亞胡說：“以色列的一貫立場是，美國使館，像與我們有外交關係的所有國家的大使館一樣，都應該設在我們的永久的首都--耶路撒冷。”