President Barack Obama suggested on Wednesday that moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem could have "explosive" results and said he was worried that the prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were waning.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to re-locate the embassy to Jerusalem, breaking with longstanding U.S. policy. Israel and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital, and such a change would draw international condemnation.

"When sudden unilateral moves are made that speak to some of the core issues and sensitivities of either side, that can be explosive," Obama said at his last news conference as president.

He said his administration had warned the incoming Trump administration that big shifts in policy had consequences.

President Barack Obama suggested on Wednesday that moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem could have "explosive" results and said he was worried that the prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were waning.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to re-locate the embassy to Jerusalem, breaking with longstanding U.S. policy. Israel and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital, and such a change would draw international condemnation.

"When sudden unilateral moves are made that speak to some of the core issues and sensitivities of either side, that can be explosive," Obama said at his last news conference as president.

He said his administration had warned the incoming Trump administration that big shifts in policy had consequences.

Israel described the decision by the United States to abstain in the vote rather than wield its veto as "shameful." The U.S. move, along with a sharp speech by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry about the issue, reinforced tensions between the outgoing Obama administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.