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US senators want embassy in Jerusalem

WASHINGTON: Seven US Senators on Thursday unveiled legislation to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a step perennially resisted by US presidents including Barack Obama.

“It is long overdue for America to recognise the sovereign right of Israel to choose Jerusalem as its capital city,” said Republican Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, the measure’s lead author. While the move is technically required under a 1995 law, that measure also includes a presidential waiver on national security grounds, which every US leader has invoked to block the change. Brownback’s measure would strip out the waiver authority, and would block some US State Department money until the embassy is built and in use.

Other backers included Republican Senators Jim Inhofe, Jon Kyl, John Cornyn, David Vitter and Jim Bunning as well as Independent Senator Joe Lieberman. In June, Obama delayed for six months moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv - where other foreign embassies are located - to Jerusalem, a bureaucratic ritual that exemplifies the controversy over the city’s status. The international community does not recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the future of the city is a key stumbling block in negotiations with the Palestinians. afp

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