Senate Resolution to Move US Embassy to Jerusalem
Friday
November 21, 2003
Barbara Ferguson, Arab News Correspondent WASHINGTON, 21 November 2003 — A new resolution is being presented to the US Senate requiring the US to relocate its embassy, currently in Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem. The resolution would require moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem before the US would recognize a Palestinian state. The measure also prohibits the United States from recognizing Palestine until “the international community” declares Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. The resolution’s chief sponsor is Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia and Pacific Affairs subcommittee. He told journalists the current Middle East peace negotiations have been unsuccessful and are in need of change. “The Middle East peace process is in need of a major paradigm shift,” he said in a statement. “We can’t continue to bog ourselves down in the mechanics of the process.” Brownback said his resolution “has the potential to catapult the Middle East peace process forward,” but did not mention the almost certain outrage and anger such an action would provoke throughout the Muslim and Arab world. Palestinians, like the Israelis, also insist that Jerusalem should become the capital of their new state. Middle East peace efforts have left the status of Jerusalem for final status negotiations, after the thorny issues of Israel’s security; illegal Jewish settlements, boundaries, and the Palestinians’ right to return are settled. All Muslims consider Jerusalem their third-holiest city, after Makkah and Madinah. Sen. Brownback said the resolutions require the United States to move the embassy to Jerusalem three months before recognizing a Palestinian state. “For the past decade, we have attempted to forge a peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis based on the model of ‘land of peace.’ That model has failed,” he said. “We should make a new attempt, addressing new issues at the outset. By tackling the tough issues first, we can chart a new path and help create a powerful momentum for peace on all sides.” Brownback’s resolution — which Washington Middle East observers say President Bush will have no choice but to veto — is different from the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which allowed the president to impose a 6-month waiver on the move — by citing national security interests. President Clinton used this clause throughout his presidency. President Bush has also signed the waiver despite his presidential campaign pledge to move the embassy to Jerusalem. |
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