People walk past a giant banner on a building congratulating US President-elect Donald Trump, in Jerusalem, January 20, 2017.

:: US President Trump will encourage Gulf countries to form a Middle East force such as the Atlantic Alliance, during his anticipated visit to Saudi Arabia, a senior administration official said on Wednesday.

The official said Trump is not planning to announce the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem on his visit to Israel.

He added that the Trump administration does not want to complicate attempts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace process by announcing the embassy move.

Last March, US Vice President Mike Pence spoke of the possibility of transferring the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Pence said then that Trump was “seriously considering it.”

Trump spoke repeatedly during the 2016 presidential campaign about moving the embassy to Jerusalem, but the debate on the controversial issue has apparently been postponed since he took power.