WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate attorney David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel, selecting an envoy who supports Israeli settlements and other changes to U.S. policies in the region. Friedman said he looked forward to carrying out his duties from "the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," even though the embassy is in Tel Aviv. 
 
 Like some of his predecessors, Trump has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want east Jerusalem as part of their sovereign territory. The move would also distance the U.S. from most of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe and the Arab world. 
 
 The president-elect said Friedman would "maintain the special relationship" between the U.S. and Israel. 
 
 But the announcement sparked anger from liberal Jewish groups. Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, called nominating Friedman "reckless," citing his support for settlements and his questioning of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. 
 
 The statement doesn't detail how Friedman could work in Jerusalem. However, Trump advisers have insisted in recent days that the president-elect will follow through on his call for moving the embassy. 
 
 "He has made that promise," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters Thursday. "I can guarantee you, just generally, he's a man who is going to accomplish many things very quickly." 
 
 One option Trump allies have discussed would involve Friedman, if confirmed by the Senate, working out of an existing U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. According to a person who has discussed the plan with Trump advisers, the administration would essentially deem the facility the American embassy by virtue of the ambassador working there. 
 
 It's unclear how far those discussions have gotten or whether Trump himself has been briefed on the proposal. Trump's transition team did not respond to questions about the matter. 
 
 Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, but backed away from the idea once in office. 
 
 Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized. It claims the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as the capital of their future state. 
 
 Virtually all embassies to Israel are located in or around Tel Aviv. 
 
 Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told The Associated Press this week that he has been in touch with Trump's staff about the embassy issue. Barkat said his conversations have led him to believe that Trump is serious about making the move. 
 
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 Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC ||||| WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday named David M. Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer aligned with the Israeli far right, as his nominee for ambassador to Israel, elevating a campaign adviser who has questioned the need for a two-state solution and has likened left-leaning Jews in America to the Jews who aided the Nazis in the Holocaust. 
 
 Mr. Friedman, whose outspoken views stand in stark contrast to decades of American policy toward Israel, did not wait long on Thursday to signal his intention to upend the American approach. In a statement from the Trump transition team announcing his nomination, he said he looked forward to doing the job “from the U.S. embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.” 
 
 Through decades of Republican and Democratic administrations, the embassy has been in Tel Aviv, as the State Department insists that the status of Jerusalem — which both Israel and the Palestinians see as their rightful capital — can be determined only through negotiations as part of an overall peace deal. 
 
 Mr. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, has said that he does not believe it would be illegal for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank and he supports building new settlements there, which Washington has long condemned as illegitimate and an obstacle to peace.
– Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate attorney David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel, selecting an envoy who supports Israeli settlements and other changes to US policies in the region, reports the AP. Friedman says he looks forward to carrying out his duties from "the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," even though the embassy is in Tel Aviv. Like some of his predecessors, Trump has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want east Jerusalem as part of their sovereign territory. The move would also distance the US from most of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe and the Arab world. The president-elect says Friedman will "maintain the special relationship" between the US and Israel. But the announcement sparked anger from liberal Jewish groups, with the president of J Street calling Friedman's nomination "reckless," citing his support for settlements and his questioning of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. (Friedman has previously likened liberal Jews in the US to Jews who aided the Nazis during World War II, notes the New York Times.) The statement doesn't detail how Friedman could work in Jerusalem. One option would involve Friedman, if confirmed by the Senate, working out of an existing US consulate in Jerusalem. The administration would essentially deem the facility the American embassy by virtue of the ambassador working there.