Embassy Will Stay in Tel Aviv.

By David Swan (VOA-Washington)

President Clinton has decided not to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in part because he fears the action would hurt the Middle East peace process.

Under a 1995 law, the move was supposed to take place by this month.

However, the president has exercised his authority to waive the law to protect national interests. In a letter to Sen. Daniel Moynihan, one of Israel's strong supporters in Congress, Clinton says those interests include a successful end to the peace process. He expresses concern about repercussions from the move.

The Palestinians, who claim mostly-Arab east Jerusalem as their own future capital, have warned that relocating the Embassy would set back negotiations. And without the president's waiver, the law would have blocked funding for other US missions overseas. In response, Moynihan argues the city is Israel's eternal capital and the Embassy should be there.