President Bush extended his waiver of a law mandating the move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
The order, sent Dec. 4 to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and published Tuesday, cites the “national security interests of the United States” in waiving the Jerusalem Embassy Act for six months.
Bush and his predecessor, Bill Clinton, have waived the act routinely since its passage in 1995, citing the dangers that Muslim outrage over such an act would pose to U.S. interests in the Middle East.
Clinton and Bush also have favored delaying such a move until Jerusalem’s status is settled in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
With Bush leaving office in January, this will be the last time he waives the law.
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