NBC White House correspondent Peter Alexander said on Wednesday that the United States recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital was supposed to be the final "gift" from America to Israel, and he's not sure the Jewish state deserves the "ultimate reward" yet.
MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle asked Alexander why the decision to name Jerusalem the capital of Israel is happening now, and if the timing of the announcement is significant.
"Well Stephanie, to be clear, this goes against decades of precedent within the United States," Alexander said. "Remember, recognizing Jerusalem was supposed to be sort of the ultimate reward for Israel. It’s not clear that Israel has done anything in return for this gift right now."
Alexander's comments suggested the United States has the ability to use the declaration as a sort of "gift" or "reward" for Israel moving forward in Middle East peace talks and solving the two-state problem in Israel between the Israeli and the Palestinian people.
Alexander also reported British Prime Minister Theresa May will be speaking to Trump about her stance that Palestinians and Israelis should be responsible for settling disputes over Jerusalem, and it should not be dealt with "unilaterally."