‘Israel’ warns US over plan to reopen Jerusalem consulate to revive diplomacy with PA
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- The occupation state has said that the United States’s plan to reopen its consulate in Jerusalem, which was being used for diplomacy with the Palestinian Authority, is a “bad idea” and could destabilize Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government.
The previous US administration of Donald Trump signaled support for the Israeli claim on the occupied city as its capital by moving its embassy there from Tel Aviv and subsuming the consulate in that mission. The consulate has traditionally been a base for diplomatic outreach to the PA.
President Joe Biden has promised to restore ties with the Palestinian Authority, back a two-state solution and reopen the consulate. It has been closed since 2019, with Palestinian affairs handled by the embassy.
“We think it’s a bad idea,” Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, told a news conference on Wednesday when asked about the reopening. “Jerusalem is the sovereign capital of Israel and Israel alone, and therefore we don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“We know that the [Biden] administration has a different way of looking at this, but since it is happening in Israel, we are sure they are listening to us very carefully.“
Asked for comment, Wasel Abu Youssef, an official with the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization, said Israel was trying to keep the status quo and block any political solution.
The US embassy had no immediate comment.
Israel deems all of Jerusalem its undivided capital – a status not recognized internationally.
