Israel calls US plan to reopen consulate for Palestinians 'bad idea'
In an effort to repair ties with the Palestinians, the Biden administration plans to reopen the US Consulate in Jerusalem that had served as a de facto embassy for the Palestinians.
Israel’s foreign minister has called the Biden administration’s plan to reopen the US Consulate in Jerusalem a “bad idea” that could “destabilize” Israel’s new government.
“We think it’s a bad idea and we’ve told America we think it’s a bad idea,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told reporters on Wednesday.
The reopening, he said, “will send the wrong message, not only to the region, not only to the Palestinians, but also to other countries, and we don’t want this to happen.”
In 2019 the Donald Trump administration closed the Jerusalem-based consulate, which had served as the de facto American embassy to the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The consulate’s activities were folded into US Embassy’s operations, a move the former administration said was aimed at increasing efficiency and did not signal a change in policy.
