Mouood Mouood English Edition
The Senate on Monday passed a resolution calling on President Trump to “abide by” provision of a 1995 law moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds.
The provision was passed as part of a measure commemorating the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, which followed the Six Day War in 1967.
The Senate passed it in a 90-0 vote.
Trump promised during his campaign that he would move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds, but in a reversal, signed an order on June 1 keeping the embassy in Tel Aviv, at least for now. The White House said it delayed the move to improve the chances of reaching a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The 1995 law called for the president to move the embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds by May 31, 1999, or else issue a waiver every six months.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not mention the embassy in a Monday floor speech calling for support of the resolution.
“In honor of this significant anniversary for our close ally, many Senators from both sides of the aisle are joining together in a resolution to mark the occasion today,” McConnell said. “While we know that Israel continues to face a number of threats, bipartisan passage of this resolution will serve as yet another indication of the United States’ commitment to standing by our Israeli friends.”
Most of the world does not recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital and the city is considered occupied territory.
A potential move of the embassy would anger Palestinians, who have been seeking to form an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds and the Gaza Strip, with East al-Quds as the capital.
They also want the Tel Aviv regime to withdraw from the Palestinian lands and return to the 1967 borders.
While Trump’s postponement of the embassy move was welcomed in Palestine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“Israel’s consistent position is that the US Embassy, as well as the rest of the embassies, should be in Jerusalem,” his office said in a statement.
