US Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's Capital

Historically, the United States viewed as desirable the establishing of an international regime for the city, with its final status resolved through negotiations. Prior to President Donald Trump's announcement on December 6, 2017, it did not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

United States policy on Jerusalem refers specifically to the geographic boundaries of the "City of Jerusalem" based on the UN's corpus separatum proposal. De jure, Jerusalem is part of the Palestine Mandate and has not been under sovereignty of any country since.

The United States voted for the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in November 1947 and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 in December 1948 following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War but voted against Resolution 303 in December 1949 that reaffirmed that Jerusalem be established a corpus separatum under a special international regime to be administered by the United Nations because the U.S. regarded the plan as no longer feasible after both Israel and Jordan had established a political presence in the city.

The U.S. opposed Israel's moving its capital from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem following Israel's declaration of Jerusalem as its capital in 1949 and opposed Jordan's plan to make Jerusalem its second capital announced in 1950. The U.S. opposed Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 war. The United States has proposed that the future of Jerusalem should be the subject of a negotiated settlement. Subsequent administrations have maintained the same policy that Jerusalem's future not be the subject of unilateral actions that could prejudice negotiations such as moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which declared, as a statement of policy, that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel." In 2002, passed as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act Congress said, "For purposes of the registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a passport of a United States citizen born in the city of Jerusalem, the Secretary shall, upon the request of the citizen or the citizen’s legal guardian, record the place of birth as Israel," although Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama have not allowed it. A federal appeals court declared the 2002 law invalid on 23 July 2013. On 8 June 2015, The Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling struck down Section 214(d) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, FY 2003, citing the law as an overreach of Congressional power into foreign policy.

President George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) stated that the United States does not believe new settlements should be built in East Jerusalem and that it does not want to see Jerusalem "divided". The Obama administration has condemned expansion of Gilo and Ramat Shlomo as well as evictions and house demolitions affecting Palestinians living in East Jerusalem.

The United States maintains a consulate in Jerusalem that deals primarily with the Palestinian Authority, while relations with the Government of Israel government are handled from the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv. The U.S. consulate is not accredited to the Israeli cabinet. The U.S. has six buildings in Jerusalem with a staff of 471. In 2010 the consulate had a budget of $96 million.

As of December 6, 2017, President Donald Trump's administration officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, despite objections from Palestinian leaders. Trump added that he would initiate the process of establishing a new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem

                 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positions_on_Jerusalem#United_States