Pictured Above: President Donald Trump speaks at the U.S. Department of Energy headquarters June 29, 2017. Credit: Simon Edelman/Department of Energy.

(JNS.org) President Donald Trump is planning to announce that the U.S. officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday.

According to the Israeli media outlet, Trump is also weighing the possibility of fulfilling his campaign pledge of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Potential U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the relocation of the U.S. embassy are reportedly motivated by domestic political considerations related to renewed pressure from Republicans and evangelical Christians regarding U.S. policy towards the Jewish state.  

The Yedioth Ahronoth report came just a day after the White House downplayed reports that Trump would announce the embassy’s relocation.

“This is a premature report. We have nothing to announce,” said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, AFP reported.

Israel’s Channel 2, meanwhile, reported on Wednesday that Israeli government officials believe it is extremely likely that Trump would announce the embassy move in the coming days.

In a speech on Tuesday marking the 70th anniversary of United Nations Resolution 181, which endorsed the establishment of a Jewish state in what was then British Mandatory Palestine, Vice President Mike Pence said that Trump is “actively considering” moving the embassy. 

Trump on June 1 signed a waiver to keep the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv. The president now faces a Dec. 1 deadline to decide whether or not to sign a waiver for an additional six months.

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