Having set a combative tone in his inauguration address last week, President Trump has wasted no time tackling his biggest bugbears. First up, Obamacare, diminished by executive order on Friday afternoon; then, over the weekend, an astonishing stepping-up of his war against the established media, with any hope of a ceasefire lost in a volley of falsehoods from the Trump press team.

Now that the Donald’s wand has been waved over America, will the Middle East be next in line for the sorcerer’s magic? When it comes to finding a resolution to the Israel-Palestine conundrum Trump evidently believes that Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, will be the man to hit on a plan that is acceptable to all sides. He at least has the advantage that nobody else has managed it after decades of trying.

Since Trump is a man who obviously likes a bit of symbolism, the suggestion that he might move the United States’ embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem might not come as a huge surprise. It would certainly provoke concern from much of the Arab world. The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has suggested that the construction of a new embassy there would “not help peace” and would “destroy the two-state solution”. It would also be at odds with the United Nations’ continued refusal to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President-elect Donald Trump acknowledges guests as he arrives on the platform at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington AP In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump shakes hands with Justice John Roberts after taking the oath at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump President Donald Trump raises his fists after his inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets outgoing President Barack Obama before Trump is inaugurated during ceremonies on the Capitol in Washington Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump resident-elect Donald Trump arrives on the platform of the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty Images In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Attendees partake in the inauguration ceremonies to swear in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump US President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address during ceremonies at the US Capitol in Washington DC Getty In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump U.S. President Donald Trump waves with wife Melania during the Inaugural Parade in Washington DC Reuters In pictures: Protests, pomp and Donald Trump Protesters registered their rage against the new president Friday in a chaotic confrontation with police who used pepper spray and stun grenades in a melee just blocks from Donald Trump's inaugural parade route. 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The question of Jerusalem’s status is about as thorny as it gets and is at the heart of the wider Israeli-Palestinian riddle. The city is either the answer to a lasting peace or the reason for its impossibility. Both Israelis and Palestinians regard it as their capital; but Israel’s current administration, in line with most of its predecessors, has maintained that all of Jerusalem – rather than a portion of it – will remain eternally under Israeli sovereignty. So although the establishment of a foreign embassy in Jerusalem would not, in and of itself, be a definitive statement against a possible, future two-state solution, it would be perceived as supportive of the hardline position taken by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

The fact that President Trump’s pick as his ambassador to Israel is a longstanding opponent of the two-state proposition has convinced some commentators that the plan to shift America’s embassy will come to fruition. That Israeli authorities approved the construction of hundreds of new settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem shortly after Trump took office is a further signal that Israel is confident it now has a firm friend in the White House.

Still, Trump is hardly the first US President to raise the possibility of relocating America’s diplomatic HQ in Israel. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both pledged to make the move to Jerusalem when they were on the campaign trail. During Clinton’s first term, Congress even passed the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act. But ever since then, successive Presidents have signed a waiver every six months to block the legislation’s enforcement, convinced that the national security interests of the U.S. are better protected by keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv.

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So will Trump break from this cautious, prudent, approach? Sceptics suggest he and his advisers will come to realise that such a symbolic step would not only endanger the prospects of an Israeli-Palestinian accord, but would also incite such anger in Arab nations that it would effectively act as a recruitment drive for Isis and its ilk, fuelling precisely the kind of terrorism that Trump claims he wants to rid from the world. Some of America’s staunchest allies in the Middle-East (Saudi Arabia and Egypt to name just two) would be deeply opposed to the idea of the US Ambassador being based in Jerusalem and it is this disapproval which many believe will persuade Trump’s team to hold back.