U.S. Citizens Born in Jerusalem to Finally have ‘Israel’ Listed on their Passports

The Trump administration plans to announce that passports of U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem may now also mention Israel as the country of birth.

The State Department’s longstanding policy currently “recognizes that Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are territories whose final status must be determined by negotiations,” according to its website, and as such only the city of birth is allowed to be mentioned.

The expected change will take place in the coming days before the U.S. election, and according to Politico could help President Donald Trump draw out evangelical Christians and pro-Israel supporters to vote for him.

The news comes hours after Israel and the U.S. signed an agreement extending scientific cooperation to apply to Israeli institutions in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, in a move seen by some as a precursor to U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank.

The existing agreements contained a clause that said cooperation “may not be conducted in geographical areas which came under the administration of the State of Israel after June 5, 1967, and may not relate to subjects primarily pertinent to such areas.”

“These geographic restrictions are no longer consistent with U.S. policy,” an embassy statement said.

Under the proposed new passport policy, U.S. citizens will be able to choose to have either “Jerusalem, Israel,” or just “Jerusalem.”