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White House confirms Biden will keep embassy in Jerusalem [1]
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Date: 2021-02-09
The White House confirmed Tuesday that President Joe Biden intends to keep the U.S. Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, where it was relocated during the Trump administration. The issue of where to locate the embassy has been a fixture of negotiations over Israeli and Palestinian territory and authority for decades.
A White House spokesperson confirmed to CQ Roll Call the administration’s intentions, following up on a query from last Friday’s White House press briefing.
“The U.S. position is that our embassy will remain in Jerusalem, which we recognize as Israel’s capital,” the spokesperson said. “The ultimate status of Jerusalem is a final status issue which will need to be resolved by the parties in the context of direct negotiations.”
The Senate voted 97-3 last week during the budget “vote-a-rama” in favor of an amendment supportive of the location of the embassy. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in response to questioning during his Jan. 19 confirmation hearing that the embassy would remain in Jerusalem, but White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had not been definitive on Friday.
The lack of clarity from the White House had prompted criticism over the weekend from freshman Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., who was U.S. ambassador to Japan under President Donald Trump.
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[1] Url:
https://rollcall.com/2021/02/09/white-house-confirms-biden-will-keep-embassy-in-jerusalem/
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