BBC TV News (10:00 PM EST, PBS Channel 32, WHUT, Washington DC) is reporting that the US Congress today passed legislation declaring Jerusalem the capitol city of Israel. Ratification is expected tomorrow, following which the bill will be forwarded for the President's signature and will become part of the official policy of the United States.

It was mentioned in the report that this legislation had been the initiative of a "powerful Israeli lobby" in the US. There was brief conjecture by the commentator and a Middle East correspondent about the legal ramifications of this declaration, the irreversible effect of the US establishing these sorts of "facts on the ground", and how this was likely to be received in the "Arab world". The correspondent pointed out that Jerusalem is, after all, part of the occupied territories.

This has got to be one of the biggest foreign policy gaffes in recent history, at a time of tremendously strained relations between the US and muslim countries, and with the Middle East a virtual powder keg. Is Congress stupid enough to being throwing matches - or is that in fact their intention?

Has anyone even HEARD of this bill? How could something this significant and controversial be adopted in Congress without ANY awareness on the part of the American people, and absolutely NO coverage by the American media? Why was it announced on BBC TV News, but absent from BBC websites?

Can ANYONE shed any light on this?