The United States recently submitted a request to Israeli authorities to “begin preparing” the Allenby compound in Jerusalem for the construction of the U.S. permanent embassy in the country, reported Israel’s Channel 12.
The outlet reported, citing anonymous sources, on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to relocate the embassy to its permanent location if he wins re-election in 2020 and could travel to lay the cornerstone during the election campaign.
The United States relocated its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May 2018, five months after recognizing the latter as the capital of the Jewish state.
The current embassy is located in the former U.S. consulate on Jerusalem’s Agron Street.