WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (KUNA) -- The White House defended President Donald Trump's comments on moving the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as the US continues to pursue an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Trump said at a campaign rally in West Virginia late Tuesday that Israel would pay a "higher price" in peace negotiations with the Palestinians after his decision to move the embassy.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said, "We think that the president's decision was the right one to move the embassy, something that other presidents had promised and failed to do, and this is a president who's been delivering on the promises that he's made." Trump said that the Palestinians would "get something very good" in return for the embassy move, "because it's their turn next." "If there's ever going to be peace with the Palestinians, then this was a good thing to have done," Trump went on. "We took it off the table. In past negotiations, they never got past Jerusalem. Now Israel will have to pay a higher price, because it's off the table. The Palestinians will get something very good, cause it's their turn next," Trump said without elaborating on what that may be. Trump called the envisaged Israeli-Palestinian peace deal is "the toughest of them all." His comments come as National Security Adviser John Bolton visits Jerusalem to continue work on Trump's plan for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. (end) hy.gb