Israel opposes the plan of US President Joe Biden’s administration to re-open America’s consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Naftali Bennet has said.
“We made it clear to them [the US],” Bennet said, answering journalist Amichai Stein’s question during a press conference on Saturday. The reporter from Israeli Kan TV tweeted that both Bennet and the Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lepid reiterated the exact same phrase.
Trump controversially moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the consulate that served as America’s de facto embassy to the Palestinians was incorporated into the embassy as the Palestinian Affairs Unit. This move angered Palestinians who consider East Jerusalem the capital of their future Palestinian state.
As part of the two-state solution to the conflict, it has been repeatedly suggested that the Palestinians would be allowed to return occupied East Jerusalem to Israel. However, the right-wing Israeli government seems to have ruled out such an offer.
Jerusalem is “the capital of the State of Israel only,”Stein was told by Bennet on Saturday.
#BREAKING: Israeli PM Bennett in response to my Q: “We oppose opening a US consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem, it’s the capital of the State of Israel only”
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) November 6, 2021
The Palestinian consulate was closed in 2019 under former President Donald Trump, and the Israeli government has resisted Biden’s plans to re-open it for quite some time. When Biden took over the White House, one of the first moves announced by his administration was the facility’s reopening.
Tel Aviv was not happy with the news. Lapid called the news a “shocking” in September. “bad idea”He stated that it would send an unintended message to the Palestinians, as well the international community.
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Blinken announces that the US will reopen Jerusalem consulate and restore ties to Palestinians.
Bennet had suggested that a consulate be opened somewhere other than Jerusalem. This was when Biden met with Bennet in late August. These suggestions were rejected by the US government, as reported in Israeli media.
Massnews.com also available
Biden rejected alternative sites floated by Israeli PM for reopening of US Jerusalem consulate closed by Trump – reports
It is unclear, however, if Washington would be able to move forward with its plans without Tel Aviv’s consent. The US would need Israel’s approval to open the consulate, the US State Department admitted in October.
Massnews.com also available
‘Bad idea’: Israeli FM condemns Biden’s plan to reopen US consulate in Jerusalem for Palestinians
“That is my understanding — that we need the consent of the host government to open any diplomatic facility,”Brian McKeon, the Deputy Secretary to State for Management and Resources, addressed the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
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