After Trump response, PMO clarifies US Embassy timeframe remarks
Netanyahu associate says Israeli premier is aware construction of new permanent US Embassy in Jerusalem could take years, but believes Washington weighing faster 'interim measures.'
An official in Netanyahu's office said the prime minister recognized that construction of a new embassy will take years but believes Washington is considering "interim measures that could result in an embassy opening much faster".
The official, who declined to be named, did not define those steps or mention any dates for a Jerusalem embassy to begin operating. In the past, Israeli media have speculated that, before a building is ready, the US ambassador would operate part of the time out of a temporary location in Jerusalem.
There is no contradiction, the official said, between the prediction made by the Israeli premier and comments made by President Donald Trump refuting the notion.
Netanyahu, according to Israeli reporters travelling with him on a trip to India, said on Wednesday: "My solid assessment is that it will go much faster than you think - within a year from now."
Asked about Netanyahu’s comment, Trump said in an interview that was not the case. "By the end of the year? We’re talking about different scenarios—I mean obviously that would be on a temporary basis. We’re not really looking at that. That’s no."
Despite the divergence of views, the Israeli official said "The president and the prime minister are not saying anything different".
Trump in early December recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and set in motion the process of moving the embassy there from Tel Aviv.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said last month the embassy move was "probably no earlier than three years out, and that's pretty ambitious", a timeframe that administration officials have attributed to the logistics of finding and securing a site as well as arranging housing for diplomats.
