The Biden administration has come under criticism for pandering to a violent Palestinian regime as the president decides to reverse Trump’s decision to shut down the Jerusalem Consulate General.
In 2019, under Trump’s leadership, the direct link between Washington DC and the Palestinian Consulate in favor of folding the establishment into the then-new US Embassy in Jerusalem – a move which Trump said would make the operation run more smoothly.
But the move was unpopular with Palestinian officials who accused the Trump administration of making the changes to show the US’ allegiance to Israel and said it had closed its doors to East Jerusalem, which is a predominately Muslim region.
According to Fox, Biden has opted to partially scutter this mark of allegiance with Israel by opening a US Office of Palestinian Affairs in the city, presumably in a bid to re-establish the US’ connection with the turbulent Palestinian regime.
The move comes after a series of acts of terrorism by Palestinians against Israelis in the Jewish city of Elad, about 25km from Tel Aviv.
Last month, two Palestinian men murdered three Israeli civilians in Elad with an ax and a knife. As’sad al-Rifai, 19, and Emad Subhi Abu Shqeir, 20 were captured by the Israel Security Agency after a week-long manhunt.
In April, another Palestinian man Raad-Hazem, 28, shot three civilians dead and wounded 6 others in an apparent terrorist attack in a crowded bar in the Westernized, liberal city of Tel-Aviv.
Biden’s decision to hammer in a diplomatic wedge between the delicate factions in the region will undoubtedly cause confusion and tension in the US’ affairs with Jerusalem.
Victoria Coates, a former deputy national security advisor for the Middle East and Northern Africa for Trump said she believes the scheme could cause diplomatic problems for the US and will contribute to rising tension in the region:
“We had a consul-general in West Jerusalem for decades dedicated to Palestinian affairs, which meant Palestinians had to cross into West Jerusalem for any consular affairs related to the United States.”Explained Coates to Fox.
“Since 2018, their affairs have been handled by a proper U.S. Embassy, which also happens to be in West Jerusalem. This unnecessary change with the Palestinians will only prolong the stalemate between them and Israel and will not bring us any closer to peace than the old ConGen [consulate-general] did [before Trump].”
The Israeli government is reportedly concerned that re-opening a Palestinian consulate will destabilize unity for Jerusalem and will re-determine the notion of a divided Israel.
“The Biden administration is reverting to past failed practices,” said Israel’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon.
Yesterday a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry into the events of May 2021 was published. This amateurish document blames Israel and ignores the fact that the terrorist organization Hamas initiated and targeted an aggressive missile attack on civilian populations>>
— Ambassador Danny Danon | דני דנון (@dannydanon) June 8, 2022
“Although the announced changes are essentially bureaucratic in nature, with amendments to names and reporting lines, it is the symbolism of the move which hits home for some. It signals an upgrade in relations with the possibility of more fruitless promises to come.”
A US State Department spokesman told Fox that it is concerned that the “attempt to water down the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital” will prove “a direct challenge to Israel’s sovereignty, which potentially might also breach the Jerusalem Embassy Act, will only reward Palestinian intransigence and violence, as we have seen in the past months.”
This story syndicated with permission from Jo Marney, Author at Trending Politics
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