FOREIGN POLICY/ISRAEL/PALESTINE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Despite appeals and warnings from world leaders, President Donald Trump is poised to reverse decades of U.S. policy on Wednesday [12-6-17] by declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and beginning the process of moving the U.S. Embassy to the holy city, a step that threatens to spark unrest across the Middle East and undermine American efforts to forge a new peace plan.
Mr. Trump placed a flurry of phone calls to Arab leaders Tuesday, on the eve of a policy address in which he plans to explain the move, and fielded protests from Arab, Palestinian and European leaders to his plan, according to foreign officials. The State Department, meanwhile, warned U.S. embassies around the world to prepare for possible protests and violence and banned travel by government employees and their families to Jerusalem’s Old City and the West Bank…
Mr. Trump promised to move the embassy as part of his presidential campaign. By declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel now, Mr. Trump can delay the formal embassy relocation while still fulfilling part of his campaign pledge.”
-Felicia Schwartz, Dion Nissenbaum, and Rory Jones, “Trump Tells Arab Leaders U.S. Will Move Embassy to Jerusalem,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 5, 2017 10:56pm