President Donald Trump's decision to keep the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv is "deeply disappointing," Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., said Thursday.
In a statement, DeSantis called out Trump for reneging on a campaign promise DeSantis and 100 colleagues had pressed for ahead of Trump's inauguration.
"Israel's stewardship of Jerusalem has been tremendous and has included guaranteeing religious freedom for Christians and Muslims as well as Jews – something that was nonexistent during the city's Arab occupation," DeSantis said in his statement. "Yet, Israel is the only nation in the world where an American embassy is not located in its chosen capital city."
"It is long past time that we rectify this error and locate our embassy in Jerusalem, and it is deeply disappointing that the President has decided not to do so," he added.
The White House announced Thursday the president had renewed a waiver the day before temporarily keeping the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
"No one should consider this step in any way a retreat from the president's strong support for Israel," the White House said in a statement.
The 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act requires the U.S. Embassy to move to Jerusalem, but every president since then has signed a six-month waiver delaying the decision.
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