Sputnik - In spite of a campaign promise to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to a location in the hotly contested city of Jerusalem, US President Donald Trump has departed from his visit to the country with no mention of the shift.





Prior to�Trump's departure from�Tel Aviv on�Tuesday he gave a farewell speech that included plenty of�political boilerplate but�no specifics, particularly with�regard to�the highly charged political promise of�moving the US embassy in�Israel from�Tel Aviv, the nation's financial, tech and business hub, to�Jerusalem.

"What a heritage, what heritage," Trump declared in�his speech. "The ties of�the Jewish people to�this holy land are ancient and eternal. They date back thousands of�years," he said, as�reported by�the Jerusalem Post.

"I make this promise to�you," added the US president, "My administration will always stand with�Israel." In a pause following�this remark, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spontaneously grabbed Trump's hand and shook it vigorously.

Trump's remarks took a darker turn while speaking of�the continued violence within�the country, stating that Israel is a nation in�which "school children [�] must run to�the bomb shelters with�fear but�with speed. ISIS targets Jewish neighborhoods, synagogues� and Iran's leaders routinely call for�Israel's destruction," before�referring to�himself in�the third person by�asserting: "Not with�Donald J Trump."

After naming himself, the US president paused for�breath while the handpicked audience erupted into�an applause, which rapidly swelled to�a standing ovation, while the Israeli prime minister grinned and pumped his fist in�the air.

"I like�you, too," Trump responded, cited by�Jpost.com.
But no mention was made by�the US president of�the embassy move, and many Israeli officials came away disappointed, as�Trump headed toward�Europe on�Air Force One to�continue his nine-day foreign junket, his first trip outside�the US since�becoming president.


Netanyahu is known to�be hoping to�gain support in�the US for�the 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.