US Embassy stays put – Following the practice of his predecessors, President Barack Obama has invoked US national security interests to notify Congress he will not move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The notification is necessary under a 1995 law that authorized the embassy's relocation but left the decision to presidents. Bill Clinton and George Bush submitted similar notifications to Congress. Under the law, such declarations must be made every six months.
Obama also issued them during the first two years of his administration.
The location of the embassy is sensitive in Mideast peace negotiations because both Israel and Palestinians claim it as their capital.
While Clinton and Bush had indicated a commitment to moving the embassy at some point, Obama's notification does not contain that language.
In his Mideast policy speech twoweeks ago, Obama acknowledged that the issues of Jerusalem and refugees remain emotional stumbling blocks to achieving peace, but said that in order to achieve progress both sides must move forward with talks about territory and security.