Although Netanyahu has gone on record many times asking the US to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Fox News journalist Conor Powell claimed that ahead of Trump's upcoming visit to Israel, Netanyahu has been secretly begging the US president to keep the American embassy where it is, prompting a vehement refutation of the claim by Tel Aviv, according to the Times of Israel.
— Conor Powell (@ConormPowell) May 15, 2017
The office of the Israeli prime minister released a statement calling the information contained with Powell's tweet a "lie," and, in a rare move, published what it claimed to be partially redacted minutes from a meeting between Trump and Netanyahu in Washington earlier this year purporting to prove that the latter is in favor of the relocation.
Netanyahu, in preparation for Trump's first foray beyond the borders of the country that elected him president, is known to be hoping to gain support for the US embassy move, as it would be interpreted as validating Israel's 1967 annexation of the eastern section of Jerusalem, and a slap in the face to Palestine's original claims on the region.
Ron Dermer, Israel's ambassador to the US, claimed that moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem "will cause [Palestine] to understand that Israel will be here forever with Jerusalem as its capital," cited by the Times of Israel.
Trump campaigned on a pledge to move the US embassy in support of Israel, but has since backed away from the promise, particularly after Palestine observed that the move would imply a prejudice on the part of the US and hinder Washington's ability to broker peace between the two countries.
