The Democratic Party's presumptive presidential candidate, former vice president Joe Biden, said Wednesday that the U.S. Embassy would remain in Jerusalem if he is elected in November.
Speaking to potential donors via an online fundraiser, Biden said that relocating the mission back to Tel Aviv would have little impact on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks moving forward.
“But now that it’s done, I would not move the embassy back to Tel Aviv,” Biden said.
Biden initially described U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the Embassy "short-sighted and frivolous."
The Trump administration's decision almost immediately led to the Palestinians cutting off ties to the White House, with the Palestinian Authority complaining of clear bias towards Israel.
Also Biden told donors Wednesday that he would, if elected, preserve the progress made on the two-state solution and make efforts to find an end to the conflict.
“I’ve been a proud supporter of a secure, democratic Jewish state of Israel my entire life,” Biden said.
“My administration will urge both sides to take steps to keep the prospect of a two-state solution alive,” he added.
On Tuesday, Biden's senior foreign policy adviser Tony Blinken said the former vice president is against the unilateral annexation of West Bank territory, a move Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to take.