Israeli Official: Reopening of U.S. Palestinian Mission in Yerushalayim ‘Might Not Happen’

YERUSHALAYIM (Reuters) —
View of the U.S. Consulate General on Agron Street in central Yerushalayim. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll said on Sunday that the Biden administration may shelve its plan to reopen a U.S diplomatic mission for Palestinians in Yerushalayim after Israel voiced opposition to such a move.

The Jerusalem consulate was subsumed into the U.S. Embassy that was moved to the contested city from Tel Aviv in 2018 by the administration of former President Donald Trump.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this month reiterated Washington’s plan to reopen the consulate as part of efforts to repair Palestinian ties. He did not give timelines.

“I believe that I have good reason to think this will not happen,” Roll told Yediot.

“The Americans understand the political complexity,” Roll said. “We have very good relations … We don’t believe in surprising them. I don’t think they will try to surprise us.”

U.S. Embassy spokespeople could not immediately be reached for comment

Israel deems all Yerushalayim its undivided capital and says it would not consent to reopening the consulate.

Reopening the consulate could weaken Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and undermine his fragile cross-partisan government, Israeli officials have argued.

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