Washington: President-elect Donald Trump will nominate bankruptcy attorney David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel and Friedman said he looked forward to taking up his post in Jerusalem.
If that city does become the site of Washington's embassy, it would upend decades of US foreign policy, spark rancour across the Muslim world and call into question the future of the Palestinian quest for statehood.
The US embassy has been located in Tel Aviv for more than 68 years. Trump had pledged during the presidential campaign to move it to Jerusalem - marking a break with diplomatic convention at least as profound as his phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
"[Friedman] has been a long-time friend and trusted adviser to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East," Trump said.
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The Republican made clear during his campaign that he would support Israel in a number of critical areas, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital over international objections. He also pledged to not put pressure on Israel to engage in talks with the Palestinians.
The United States and most other nations do not regard Jerusalem as Israel's capital and do not recognise Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem following its capture in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and have based their ambassadors in Tel Aviv accordingly.
Palestinians regard the east of Jerusalem - which contains sites sacred to the Jewish, Islamic and Christian faiths - as the capital of their future state. Israeli officials have long declared the ancient city to be the "eternal" and "indivisible" capital of the Jewish state.
Friedman said in the statement issued by the Trump team that he would work tirelessly to "strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had a fractious relationship with US President Barack Obama, has welcomed Trump's election, chatting with him by phone and posting a video on Facebook promoting the ties between the two countries.
In an interview with the left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz in June, Friedman was asked whether Trump would support the creation of an independent Palestinian state - a bedrock of US foreign policy, which supports a two-state solution to the conflict.
"The answer is - not without the approval of the Israelis," said Friedman. "If the Israelis don't want to do it, so he doesn't think they should do it ... He does not think it is an American imperative for it to be an independent Palestinian state."
There was no immediate comment from the Israel embassy in Washington on the news.
Advocate of settlement building
Friedman is also considered far-right on settlement building and has advocated for the annexation of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Obama administration has been highly critical of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most countries view all Israeli settlements on occupied land that the Palestinians seek for their own state as illegal.
The Palestinians say settlements are a fundamental obstacle to peace. The last US-backed talks on statehood collapsed in 2014.
J Street, a small, liberal pro-Israel group based in Washington, said it was "vehemently opposed" to Friedman's nomination.
"As someone who has been a leading American friend of the settlement movement, who lacks any diplomatic or policy credentials ... Friedman should be beyond the pale for senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel," it said in a statement.
"This nomination is reckless, putting America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk," the statement added.
J Street's appeal to senators notwithstanding, there has in the past been strong bipartisan support in Congress for moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, forcing successive US presidents to veto legislation aimed at securing such a move.
Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations, said Friedman's nomination "was designed to send a signal that there will be significant break in tone, style and perhaps substance from the Obama administration" in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
"The peace process is just dead right now," Miller said, alluding to the Obama administration's failed efforts. But he said it was too early to see Friedman's nomination as Trump's disavowal of a two-state solution.
Miller noted that Trump's aides have sent conflicting signals on whether they are serious about acting quickly on his promise to move the embassy, and that it was not clear whether that would happen.
Presidential candidates have in the past promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and then reneged, deciding ultimately that the city's status should first be resolved by the parties to the conflict.
In early December, Obama renewed the presidential waiver, signed by every US president for the past two decades, against moving the US embassy to Jerusalem for another six months. It effectively means any action by Trump would be delayed until at least June.
Reuters, Fairfax Media