By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) – The Trump administration will announce this week that US nationals born in the contested city of Jerusalem can have their place of birth listed as Israel in their passports, according to a report published Wednesday.
The US had refrained from listing on passports the country to which the city belongs because of its contested nature, but President Donald Trump decided to unilaterally extend US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017. The US has since moved its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The looming decision to end the long-standing policy of listing the city simply as "Jerusalem" comes amid successive steps by Trump to bolster Israel's claims to the city, which it claims to be its capital as Palestinians seek it for their future state.
Jerusalem's status was to be determined as part of bilateral peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials under a plan that envisioned two states for two peoples, but the prospects for such a deal have been repeatedly undercut by Trump.
The new passport policy could be announced as soon as Thursday, according to the Politico news website.
The tentative plan is to allow passport-bearers born in Jerusalem to choose whether they will add "Israel" to the city's name or leave it simply as "Jerusalem," an anonymous official told Politico.
If the policy is indeed enacted on the reported timeline, it would come just five days before the US's Nov. 3 presidential election in which Trump is trailing Democratic challenger Joe Biden in national polls.
It would further solidify Trump's support among his base — particularly Evangelical Christians, who are staunch supporters of Israel.
