During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. on Sunday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed that if elected into office, he will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The matter was discussed over the weekend during Trump and Netanyahu’s meeting at the Trump Tower in New York, according to Reuters. Although members of the media were not invited to attend the meeting, the presidential hopeful’s campaign party released a statement detailing the topics discussed by Trump to the Israeli PM.
Among those is the capital of the country. Although several countries accept that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, many, including the United States, have embassies in Tel Aviv. Through a formal recognition from the state, the U.S. embassy could be relocated to Jerusalem.
Like Netanyahu, Trump also agrees that by appointing Jerusalem as the official capital of Israel, the country’s ongoing violent conflict with Palestine will cease.
Aside from this, Trump also vowed that the relationship between the U.S. and Israel will strengthen if he becomes president. In a statement, the Republican nominee said that he will aim to improve the two nation’s strategic partnership to combat the ongoing threat of terrorism.
“Mr. Trump said that under a Trump administration, there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries,” the statement reads. “Mr. Trump recognized Israel as a vital partner of the United States in the global war against radical Islamic terrorism.”
After the meeting with Trump, Netanyahu went to the W. Hotel in Union Square to have a close-door discussion with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, CNN reported.
Although Clinton’s meeting with the prime minister was shorter than that of Trump, she was still able to discuss various pressing matters with him.
