Israel's
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departs after meeting with Republican
presidential nominee Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, U.S.
September 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
By Alana Wise
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Sunday told
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if elected, the United
States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the campaign
said, marking a potential dramatic shift in U.S. policy on the issue.
During
the meeting that lasted more than an hour at Trump Tower in New York,
Trump told Netanyahu that under his administration, the United States
would "recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of
Israel."
While
Israel calls Jerusalem its capital, few other countries accept that,
including the United States. Most nations maintain embassies in Tel
Aviv.
Palestinians
want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, as capital of
the state they aim to establish alongside Israel in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip.
During
the closed-door meeting, the campaign said that Trump agreed with
Netanyahu that peace in the Middle East could only be achieved when "the
Palestinians renounce hatred and violence and accept Israel as a Jewish
State."
According
to a readout of the meeting from the campaign, the two discussed "at
length" Israel's border fence, cited by Trump in reference to his own
controversial immigration policies, which include building a wall on the
U.S.- Mexico border and temporarily banning Muslims from entering the
country.
Other
regional issues, including the fight against Islamic State, U.S.
military assistance to Israel -- "an excellent investment" -- and the
Iran nuclear deal, which both parties have criticized, were also
discussed.
(Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Bill Trott and Sandra Mal
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