Palestinians welcome US plan to reopen Jerusalem consulate
Palestinians reacted positively to the US plan to fulfill one of President Joe Biden’s promises of reopening the US mission in Jerusalem, which will be providing services and a liaison to the people of Palestine.
When the zero hour for implementation arrives, it will be very easy to execute the reestablishment of a US Consulate in Jerusalem. The sign at the entrance of the Argon Street building will be changed from “US Embassy” to “US Consulate,” and the diplomat residing in the location will no longer have to report to the US ambassador to Israel, but will report directly to the Palestine desk at the US State Department in Washington.
Fearing antagonizing the Joe Biden administration, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid used a light description to reflect Israel’s opposition to the issue of reopening the consulate, simply calling it “a mistake.”
“We have an interesting yet delicate structure of our government and we think this might destabilize this government, and I don’t think the American administration wants this to happen,” Lapid said at a press conference Sept. 1.
However, the following day, US State Department spokesman Ed Price reaffirmed the intention of Washington to fulfill the pledge made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Palestinians. On Sept. 3, Palestinians read on the front page of Al-Quds daily that the United States “is continuing with its plans to reopen the consulate in Jerusalem,” quoting Price’s answers to the paper’s Washington reporter, Said Erekat.
