The Trump administration on Tuesday cast the move, which Trump will announce Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET, as a "recognition of reality" that Jerusalem has long been the seat of the Israeli government. It's not an impediment to peace and it's not a facilitator to peace," one senior administration official said. Despite the announcement, a senior administration official said Tuesday Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would not change the US policy opposing Israeli construction of settlements in East Jerusalem. Under the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, the US embassy must be moved to Jerusalem or the State Department faces the penalty of losing half its appropriated funds for the acquisition and maintenance of buildings abroad.

Source: CNN December 05, 2017 16:41 UTC