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How the U.S. Should Deal with the Issue of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital

(PJ Media) Barry Rubin - The U.S. embassy, like others, is located in Tel Aviv. When diplomats need to meet with Israeli officials they drive up to Jerusalem. Presidents have repeatedly promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, but have never made the tiniest move toward doing so because that would make Muslims and Arabs angry. In 1947, the UN partitioned the British mandate of Palestine into three parts: a Jewish state; an Arab state; and an international zone to control all of Jerusalem. The official position of the U.S. is still stuck in 1947 - that Jerusalem should be under international control. There is absolutely nothing to prevent the U.S. from accepting pre-1967 west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, while maintaining that the status of east Jerusalem is to be determined by future negotiations. Keep in mind that the PA/Fatah position has been, for almost twenty years, that they are claiming all of east Jerusalem but not west Jerusalem. Thus, moving the embassy to west Jerusalem would not conflict with Palestinian demands. There is no question that Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The only real issue is its precise boundaries.
2012-08-06 00:00:00
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