U.S. President Donald Trump still intends to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, UN ambassador Nikki Haley said on Sunday.
Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper, Haley was asked about Trump's decision last week to sign a presidential waiver on the Jerusalem Embassy Act, delaying the embassy move for six months.
She replied by saying Trump's decision was calculated and that he plans to use the embassy as a bargaining chip in talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
"I think that he knows that it could be very much a part of the peace process. And so I think that what he did want to do is make sure that he wasn't interrupting the negotiations that are happening with the peace process," said Haley. "I think that they feel like it's moving forward in a constructive way, and he didn't want this to get in the way."
She added that Trump has not changed his position on moving the embassy and that it's all about timing.
White House press secretary clarified to reporters on Friday that Trump intends to move the embassy to Jerusalem and that the move is a question of “when” and not “if”.
The waiver delaying the implementation of a 1995 decision by Congress to move the embassy has been signed by every U.S. President since 1995. Before Thursday, former President Barack Obama signed the latest waiver at the start of December.