WASHINGTON, Oct 1: US President George Bush on Monday resisted a congressional effort to commit his administration to moving the US embassy in Israel to occupied Al Quds, implicitly recognizing the city as the country’s capital.

The president signed into law the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, but in an accompanying message to lawmakers said he reserved the right to ignore provisions of the bill that infringe on his constitutional responsibility for US foreign policy.

The Bush administration had been urging lawmakers to remove language in the bill calling for the relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Al Quds and deny funding for any official US document unless it identifies the city as Israel’s capital, they said.

However, Congress went ahead and included the requirements in the bill — which covers the State Department’s budget — which passed on Sept 26 and is now awaiting the president’s signature.

“Section 214, concerning Jerusalem (Al Quds), impermissibly interferes with the president’s constitutional authority to conduct the nation’s foreign affairs and to supervise the unitary executive branch,” Bush said in a statement.

“US policy on Jerusalem has not changed.”

Tuesday had been the deadline for the bill to be signed as the US government’s fiscal year ends at midnight on Sept 30 and officials said the president was expected to approve it, although with caveats.—AFP