July 31, 2012
White House: Romney’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital contradicts U.S. policy
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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on July 29. Photo by REUTERS/Jason Reed
A White House spokesman noted that Mitt Romney’s calling Jerusalem the “capital of Israel” contradicts United States policy over several successive administrations.
The spokesman, Josh Earnest, said that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate’s declaration that Jerusalem is “the capital of Israel” contradicts the policy of previous Republican and Deomcratic administrations. He said Romney could further explain the comments, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“Well, our view is that that’s a different position than this administration holds,” Earnest said in a news briefing Tuesday, according to the Post. “It’s the view of this administration that the capital is something that should be determined in final status negotiations between the parties.”
Palestinian groups also harshly criticized Romney for the remark, which was made in a policy speech given in Jerusalem on Sunday night.
