WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- President Bush announced the U.S. Embassy in Israel will not move to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv for at least six months.
The White House released a statement saying the embassy would not move "to protect national security interests." The Jerusalem Embassy Act passed in 1995 mandated the move but has an escape clause. The move already has been postponed twice.
Moving the embassy to Jerusalem would infuriate much of the Arab world. Israel claims all of Jerusalem and has made East Jerusalem its capital, which is challenged by Palestinians and other Arabs, and rejected by many countries in the world.
Bush campaigned in the 2000 presidential election on the promise to move the embassy at the start of his presidency.
"My Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem," Bush said in a statement issued Tuesday.
