US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that his long-time friend and advisor David Friedman is his pick to become the ambassador in Israel.

“His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and will be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East. Nothing is more critical than protecting the security of our citizens at home and abroad.”Trump said.

In his statement, he added: “The bond between Israel and the United States runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when I’m president.As the United States’ ambassador to Israel, David Friedman will maintain the special relationship between our two countries. He has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me.’’

A lawyer of profession, the 57-year-old Friedman, a Jewish Long Island native, is thought to have a 15-year association with Trump.

During the election campaign, Friedman served as an advisor to Trump on Israel and Jewish community issues.

In a statement, Friedman said he would work tirelessly to “strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region”.

He added that he “looks forward to doing this from the US embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem,” indicating that he will work to fulfil Trump’s campaign pledge to relocate the US mission from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Friedman is known to be an advocate of settlement building in the West Bank. He is the president of American Friends of Bet El Institutions, an organisation which supports a settlement near Ramallah.

Over the course of the campaign, Friedman was outspoken on his belief that West Bank settlement activity is not an obstacle to peace and that Israel does not face a “demographic threat” to its Jewish character if it fails to separate from the Palestinians.

He has also indicated that he will not necessarily promote a two-state solution. In an interview to The Times of Israel last month, Friedman said the “two-state solution is not a priority” for Trump, and that “I don’t think he is wed to any particularly outcome. A two-state solution is a way, but it’s not the only way”.

Friedman alsdo said that a Trump administration would not expect Israel to uproot its citizens who now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as part of any future peace deal with the Palestinians.

“It is inconceivable there could be a mass evacuation on that magnitude, in the unlikely event that there was an otherwise comprehensive peace agreement,” Friedman said. “It makes no sense for Judea and Samaria to be ‘Judenrein [void of Jews],’ any more than it makes sense for Israel to be ‘Arabrein [void of Arabs].’ It’s not fair.”

Friedman went on: “The critical thing is to recognize that there is not going to be any progress on a Palestinian state until the Palestinians renounce violence and accept Israel as a Jewish state. Until that happens, there is really nothing to talk about in terms of a political process.”

What a Trump administration would not do, Friedman said, “is put its finger on the scale and try to force Israel into a particular outcome, but rather will support Israel in reaching its own conclusion about how to best achieve peace with its neighbors.”

If confirmed, Friedman will replace Dan Shapiro, who, before taking the ambassador’s post was the senior director for the Middle East and North Africa on the US National Security Council.

In a statement, Morton Klein, President of the Zionist Organisation of America (ZOA) congratulated ‘’his friend’’ David Friedman on his nomination.

‘’My friend David Friedman has the potential to be the greatest US Ambassador to Israel ever. He thoroughly understands the detailed tragic reality of the Arab/Islamic war against Israel. He has a powerful grasp of Israel’s defense needs, the dangers they face, and the danger now of a Hamas/PA State. No previous ambassador appreciates the political, historic, legal, and religious rights of the Jews to Judea,Samaria, and Jerusalem like David. ‘’