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By Lahav Harkov
(JULY 11, 2022 / JPOST) U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to reaffirm his intention to open a consulate for the Palestinians in Jerusalem during his trip to Israel this week, without announcing any progress on the matter, a U.S. official said Monday.
A senior Israeli diplomatic source also said a consulate for the Palestinians is not on the agenda for Biden’s visit.
The top items on Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s agenda for his meeting with Biden are the U.S.-Israel bilateral relationship, Iran and Israel’s integration in the region, the Israeli source said, referring to an expected announcement of advances in ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Palestinians will also be a topic of discussion, and Russia’s war on Ukraine comes up in all of the prime minister’s conversations with Western leaders, the source added.
Biden promised during his election campaign to reopen the consulate, which formerly operated out of Jerusalem. However, the Trump administration closed it when it moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018. The functions and staff of the former consulate were called the “Palestinian Affairs Unit,” which worked under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy.
Several NGOs, including Regavim, Im Tirzu and the Zionist Organization of America, launched a campaign calling on Biden “not to take advantage of the unstable political situation in Israel to squeeze out critical and historic concessions,” and for Lapid “not to sell out Israel’s security interests.”
Their ads say: “Not for sale! United Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley are not cards in the political game.”
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