Until now, Americans born in the city simply had “Jerusalem” written on their passports (Representation)
Washington:
The United States said Thursday that its Jerusalem-born citizens will be able to list Israel as their place of birth, after President Donald Trump recognized the disputed holy city as the capital of the Jewish state.
Until now, Americans born in the city simply had “Jerusalem” written in their passports without specifying the country.
Indeed, immediately Jerusalem-born Americans can choose to declare Israel, but otherwise their passports would still only say Jerusalem – an option that will certainly be preferred by many in the predominantly Palestinian eastern part of the city.
The announcement comes days before the presidential election in which Trump pledged his steadfast support for Israel, a key cause for its evangelical Christian base.
During his first year in office, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and then moved the United States Embassy there, putting the United States at odds with virtually every other country.
“The United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and its seat of government, but continues to take no position on the limits of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said announcing the changes passport.
“This issue remains subject to final status negotiations between the two parties.”
Palestinian leaders have refused to accept the Trump administration’s diplomacy, calling it biased towards Israel.
Since September, the Trump administration has achieved inroads as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan agreed to recognize Israel despite the lack of a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
According to a plan proposed earlier this year by Trump, the Palestinians would benefit from a limited, demilitarized state with a capital on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which would remain under full Israeli sovereignty.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
