5 Things to Know About Trump's Move to Recognize Jerusalem as Israel's Capital

By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, December 07, 2017

4. Embassy Move Will Take Years

A footbridge leads from the Western Wall to the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City June 2, 2015. Picture taken June 2, 2015. | (Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

Finding a location for a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem and completing the move could take a significant amount of time, with the White House suggesting a time frame within three to four years.

Some experts, such as Daniel Shapiro, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Israel under Obama, said that that is a "very optimistic estimate," however.

Shapiro, who is now senior fellow with the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, has warned that the embassy move could take five to 10 years, The Washington Post reported.

There is a patch of land in West Jerusalem set aside for a new U.S. embassy, with the lease signed in 1989, but new safety standard rules that came into place following the bombing of U.S. embassies in 1998 means that the designated land is not big enough, Shapiro stated.