Jerusalem
© WikipediaJerusalem
New legislation introduced in the US Senate would move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Senator Ted Cruz said in a press release on Tuesday.

"[I]t is finally time to cut through the double-speak and broken promises and do what Congress said we should do in 1995: formally move our embassy to the capital of our great ally Israel," Cruz stated. "I am pleased to co-sponsor this legislation with Senator [Dean] Heller and Senator [Marco] Rubio, and I look forward to working with the Trump administration to make this happen."

The press release quoted Rubio as saying Congress and President-elect Donald Trump need to eliminate the loophole that has allowed US presidents in the past to delay the embassy's move.

The proposed bill would withhold some funds from the State Department until the embassy is relocated.

The US Congress passed a bill in 1995 which recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

The bill included a six-month waiver that can be renewed an unlimited amount of times, allowing the US president to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv if there are national security concerns related to its move.