US President Donald Trump’s pledge to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has caused controversy across the world.
Trump could announce the move as early as Tuesday, US officials with direct knowledge of the matter and foreign diplomats have told CNN.
Upon making his decision public, Trump is expected to sign a waiver to keep the US embassy in Tel Aviv for another six months, but say his administration will move the diplomatic mission to Jerusalem at some point – a goal long sought by Israel.
Trump told CNN in March that moving the embassy would happen “very quickly.”
The State Department’s security arm has been told to plan for potentially violent protests at US embassies and consulates if the Trump administration announces it is moving the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
CNN’s Oren Liebermann, who is based in Jerusalem, walks us through what’s at stake.
So why is moving the embassy such a big deal?
If the United States moved the embassy to Jerusalem, it would mean that the US effectively recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. That would overturn 70 years of international consensus, and, many argue, would effectively signal the end of moves to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Give me some history …
The United Nations partition plan drawn up in 1947 envisaged Jerusalem as a separate “international city.” But the war that followed Israel’s declaration of independence one year later left the city divided. When fighting ended in 1949, the armistice border – often called the Green Line because it was drawn in green ink – saw Israel in control of the western half, and Jordan in control of the eastern half, which included the famous Old City.
When did that change?
During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied East Jerusalem. Since then, all of the city has been under Israel’s authority. The city marks “Jerusalem Day” in late May or early June. But Palestinians, and many in the international community, continue to see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.