Palestine criticises Israel for denying US to reopen its consulate in East Jerusalem

Palestine has lambasted Isreal over rejecting the planned reopening of the United States consulate in Jerusalem and called Israeli PM Naftali Bennett’s remarks “new challenge” for US President Joe Biden’s administration. On Saturday night, Bennett said, “There is no place for an American consulate serving the Palestinians in Jerusalem” and according to AP, the planned reopening of the consulate would have restored Washington’s main diplomatic mission for the Palestinians in the contested city. 

In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that it views the reopening of the US consulate in Jerusalem as part of the international community’s pledge to end the decades-old occupation of Israel and a future state. The statement added, “East Jerusalem is an inseparable part of the occupied Palestinian territory and is the capital of the state of Palestine. Israel, as the occupying power, does not have the right to veto the US administration’s decision.”

As per Xinhua report, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh also said that Israeli PM’s remarks “are a new challenge to Biden's administration which has repeatedly announced its intention to reopen the consulate in East Jerusalem.” Palestinian Foreign Ministry even added in the statement that Bennett’s remarks “are a blatant challenge to the decisions and policies of the US government."

In May 2018, the United States had moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But in October 2018, former US Secretary f State Mike Pompeo for Donald Trump’s administration merged America’s consulate in East Jerusalem with its embassy in the city. However, the consulate was closed down in March 2019 and stopped providing services to Palestinians. But in May this year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the Biden administration announced that the US is mulling the reopening its consulate in East Jerusalem to resume aid to UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

‘There is no room’

But, Bennett said, “There’s no room for another American consulate in Jerusalem...Jerusalem is the capital of one state and that’s the state of Israel.” As per AP, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair apid even suggested that the US consulate could be opened in Palestinian administrative centre in Ramallah, West Bank, an idea rejected by Palestinians as according to them it would undermine their claims of Jerusalem. 

Image: AP