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JERUSALEM – The Biden administration has dramatically but partially lifted the closure of Donald Trump’s consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem by opening a “Palestinian Service” in the city.
Biden’s move is seen by some as a reward for the Palestinian leadership following a wave of terrorism in which two Palestinians killed three Israelis with an ax and a knife in the city of Greece in May.
Last month, Raad Hazem, a 28-year-old Palestinian gunman from Jenin, killed three people and wounded six others in a crowded bar in Tel Aviv.
A prominent former Trump official sees the modernization of the Palestinian Affairs Department, which used to be part of the Israeli embassy, as an obstacle to the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
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The new US Embassy in Jerusalem. (AP)
“We had a consul general in West Jerusalem for decades on Palestinian issues, which meant that Palestinians had to move to West Jerusalem for all consular matters related to the United States,” said Victoria Coates, a former deputy national security adviser for the Middle East. North Africa under Trump, Fox News Digital said.
“Since 2018, their cases have been managed by an appropriate US embassy, which is also located in West Jerusalem. This unnecessary change with the Palestinians will only prolong the stalemate between them and Israel and will bring us closer to peace than the old ConGen [consulate-general] I did [before Trump]”
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Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also joined.
“The Biden administration is returning to past failed practices,” Danone told Fox News Digital. “Although the announced changes are essentially bureaucratic in nature, with changes in the names and the order of reporting, the symbolism of this move strikes some. This is a signal to upgrade the relationship with the possibility of more fruitless promises.
“The Abraham agreement went beyond paradigms and sought new solutions,” added Danone, who is also chairman of World Likud. “It simply came to our notice then. “Maybe it’s time for the current US administration to reject past failed policies and look for a new, stable strategy.”
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The Trump administration has helped negotiate groundbreaking agreements to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
The Israeli government strongly opposes the reopening of the Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem, as it would undermine the holy city as an integral part of Israel. Jerusalem is proposing that the United States open its Palestinian consulate in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
Fox News Digital sent a request to the US State Department on Thursday for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.
Inscription at the State Department Building in Washington, DC, July 19, 2019 (iStock)
“As it has failed to impose on Israel its plan to open a consulate for the Palestinians in Jerusalem, this is a transparent attempt by the Biden administration to bypass the back door, with a de facto consulate in a clear attempt to divorce the Trump administration. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, “Arsen Ostrovsky, an Israeli human rights lawyer and chairman and chief executive of the International Law Forum, told Fox News Digital.
“This move, a direct challenge to Israeli sovereignty that could potentially violate the Jerusalem Embassy Act, will only reward Palestinian intolerance and violence, as we have seen in recent months.
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The US Embassy in Jerusalem Act of 1995 recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and calls for it to remain an inseparable city.
The diplomatic upgrade means that the Palestinians will work directly with the State Department in Washington, instead of going through the US ambassador to Israel first.
Israeli flag flying over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount (iStock)
The department renamed the Department of Palestinian Affairs to the US Office of Palestinian Affairs. In a statement, the office, which is now independent of the embassy in Jerusalem, said the change was intended to “strengthen our diplomatic accountability and commitment to public diplomacy”, according to the Associated Press.
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“We felt it was important to reintroduce separate lines for reporting to Washington on Israeli and Palestinian issues by our respective teams on the ground, which are focusing on these issues,” the statement said, adding that the United States was restoring system for decades before Trump’s decision.
But this is not in line with the Biden administration’s promises – and Palestinian demands – that the United States reopen its consulate in Jerusalem, which has operated as a de facto embassy for the Palestinians for decades.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Benjamin Vaintal reports on the Middle East. You can follow Benjamin Winthal on Twitter @BenWeinthal.
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