U.S. Remains Committed to Re-opening Yerushalayim Consulate – State Dept.

WASHINGTON (Reuters/Hamodia) – The Biden administration remains committed to re-opening a U.S. consulate in Yerushalayim and is continuing to discuss the issue with Israelis and Palestinians, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday.

Israel has publicly opposed the plan to re-open the consulate that serves Palestinians after former President Donald Trump closed it and moved Washington’s embassy to the capital in 2018.

“We continue to believe it can be an important way for our country to engage with and provide support to the Palestinian people,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a briefing to reporters.

“There are a number of steps that go into the reopening of any diplomatic facility. As you know, there are some unique sensitivities to this particular facility,” Price added, referring to Israel’s adamant opposition, with some officials arguing that it would be a violation of sovereignty.

The Times of Israel reported earlier this week that Washington had given up its plans to reopen the consulate and was preparing instead to upgrade ties with the Palestinian Authority, including elevating Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr to the position of special envoy, serving as the White House’ liaison to the PA.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s David Makovsky told Jewish Insider that Amr’s move “fits the vibe of this administration, which is to see what is possible in the field of Palestinian economics amid too many political constraints on the ground for political negotiations.”

Makovsky noted that the move, which he called “a good use of Hady’s talents,” will “free [Amr] from daily bureaucratic responsibilities.” And, Makovsky added, “amid deadlock between the U.S. and Israel over the idea of a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, it provides an address for Palestinian affairs in Washington.”

A highly skeptical note was struck by Danielle Pletka, of the American Enterprise Institute:

“Hady is a nice man, but the problem with Israeli-Palestinian peace has nothing to do with the lack of a sufficiently elevated U.S. official,” she told the Insider. “If peace processors were the missing link, we’d have had peace years ago. The problem is the Palestinians are not a ready partner for peace, and the Israelis are doing just fine without it.”