Incoming President Donald Trump's transition team is looking into moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel out of Tel Aviv, the Times of Israel reported.
Israel's Foreign Ministry is looking for possible sites for the embassy at a Diplomat Hotel, which is on land owned by the U.S. in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood.
The Trump team is not coordinating the work with U.S. State Department officials, and they "deeply dislike" the idea of moving the embassy, according to the report.
The reactions the Arab world and Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem might have are a concern for Israeli security and diplomatic officials, the report said.
The hotel on the land is privately owned and leased to the Immigrant Absorption Ministry, which houses around 500 elderly immigrants who are from the former Soviet Union. The building would not be available until 2020, the report said.
The hotel is not the only potential site, but the report stated it was a logical location, considering it is next to the U.S. Consulate compound.
Trump senior aide Kellyanne Conway said moving the embassy was a "very big priority" for Trump. She said support for Israel was integral to Trump's agenda.
Congress decided in 1995 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the embassy to that city, but every president since Bill Clinton has waived the move, citing national security concerns. The Times of Israel's report said the most frequent argument against recognizing Jerusalem as the capital is a move should only come after a peace deal is signed between Israel and the Palestinian nation.
Trump claimed he would be moving the embassy, but Trump foreign policy advisor Walid Phares said he would only do it "under consensus at home."
Jerusalem's mayor, Nir Barkat, told The New York Times the move "should have been done years ago."
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