A federal appeals court in Washington has declared unconstitutional the federal law that allowed Americans born in Jerusalem to identify "Israel" as their place of birth on a U.S. passport.

Ruling for the U.S. Justice Department, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the law impermissibly interferes with the president's authority to recognize foreign sovereigns. The United States does not recognize any country as having control of Jerusalem.