Why Biden ‘s promises to remain at the Jerusalem consulate remain unfulfilled Jerusalem News

Washington, DC – The U.S. diplomatic presence in Jerusalem dates back almost a century to the establishment of the State of Israel, and an American consulate in the Holy City has been providing services to Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza since 1967.

That is, until former President Donald Trump he closed 2019.

A year earlier, the Trump administration had announced plans to close the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, saying it would make consular services available through the U.S. embassy, ​​which was the case. conflictingly relocated From Tel Aviv to the holy city that same year.

The move sparked accusations from Palestinians and Joe Biden he pledged to reopen it Consulate specially appointed for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem. But a year after his first term in office, the US president has not yet served.

Here, Al Jazeera examines where things are, and what factors are playing a role in the state of the consulate:

What did Biden order?

During his campaign for the US presidency, Biden certainly and repeatedly promised to reopen the consulate, above all. outreach efforts to Arab and Muslim voters.

“As President, Biden will take immediate steps to restore economic and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in accordance with US law, including aid to refugees, work to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, reopen and work on the US East Jerusalem Consulate to reopen the Washington PLO mission, ”said Biden platform reads for Arab-American communities.

Chief aides to the President he repeated that promise was as little as in October 2021, but in late December, a senior administration official refused when he was asked if the consulate would reopen.

The White House and the State Department have not responded to Al Jazeera’s questions as to why the consulate has not yet opened, or whether the administration is still committed to it.

So why do things stand still?

That is not clear. But Israel, the world’s largest recipient of US military aid, has done just that hard against a U.S. proposal to reopen the consulate, when analysts said it was a show of defiance against the Democratic president’s plan.

Among the critics of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told the Knesset that his government aims to “get the matter off the table.”

“The government under my leadership has repeatedly clarified that there is no place for a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem,” Bennett said last month. “Jerusalem is the capital of a state, the State of Israel. Time”.

Israel took over East Jerusalem in 1967 and took over it in 1980 in violation of international law. The Palestinian Authority (PA) seeks East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, but Israeli leaders have stressed that the city must remain an indivisible capital of Israel, an attitude shared by major U.S. politicians on both sides.

Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center in Washington DC, said Bennet’s fragile government had “succumbed to internal pressure” to harden opposition to the consulate.

“What is happening is that the issue has become a problem in the bilateral relationship between the US and Israel,” Jahshan told Al Jazeera. “Instead of reopening the Israeli consulate, instead of reducing it over time, the administration has doubled and tripled and quadrupled.

Why is the consulate so controversial?

The consulate was never labeled for Palestine, its presence showed a degree of American diplomatic recognition by the Palestinians, and its location offered some implicit recognition of the US Palestinian East Jerusalem proclamations.

The decision by the Trump administration to close the consulate came as part of a series of political movements denounced by the Palestinians, among others. Moving to the US Embassy From Tel Aviv to Jerusalem closing Palestine Liberation Organization Office in Washington.

Although the former administration stressed that the measures did not change the US position on Jerusalem and aimed to increase “effectiveness”, Trump tweeted after the embassy move: “We have taken Jerusalem, the hardest part of the negotiation. off the table”.

Michael Oren, the former U.S. envoy to the U.S., also applauded the decision to close the consulate, saying “2018 marks the end of the last vestige of US support for the division of the city.”

A great day for Israel, Jerusalem, and the United States. SoS Pompeo’s announcement of the closure of the US consulate in Jerusalem and the transfer of its responsibilities to the embassy completes the last vestige of US aid to the city’s divisions. Israel is very grateful.

– Michael Oren (@DrMichaelOren) October 18, 2018

What would it be like to reopen the consulate sign?

While on the road he decided to keep it At the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, the plan to reopen the consulate was the consulate as a reconciliation measure that indicated that Washington still sees the holy city in dispute.

Jahshan said the reopening of the consulate would be a symbolic gesture, but that the key aspects have given it great value.

In 2018, the Palestinian Authority called Closing an attack on the US consulate Palestinian sovereignty This has nothing to do with ‘effectiveness’ and has little to do with pleasing an US ideological group that is ready to dismantle the foundations of the international system and US foreign policy to reward Israel’s violations and crimes. “

“He wanted the Palestinian side [the consulate] as a symbolic thing. Israel questions Trump’s promised victory: Jerusalem is theirs, and there is nothing in Jerusalem that includes Palestinians, “Jahshan told Al Jazeera.

Does Israel need permission to open a consulate?

That is not entirely clear.

Brian McKeon, a U.S. State Department official, suggested that the U.S. needs permission from Israel to reopen the consulate. “That’s my understanding: we need the permission of the host government to open any diplomatic facility,” McKeon told Congress in October.

But Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh stressed that the US “does not need anyone’s permission” to re-establish the diplomatic mission. In November, he also warned of the opening of a consulate in the occupied West Bank. “Ramallah is not Jerusalem, and Ramallah is not the capital of Palestine,” he said.

Jahshan said the issue is political, not legal or logistical. “The problem is that it can’t or can’t; it’s a matter of will or not, ”he said. “And it is clear that this administration will not sue Israel in this matter.”

Does Biden cope with domestic pressure on the issue?

After a group of U.S. lawmakers met with Bennett in September, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said U.S. lawmakers stressed the importance of reopening the consulate.

His colleague Chris Van Hollen stressed that the U.S. president has pledged to reinstate the diplomatic post, saying that “it is important to keep his word, keep his word, and reverse Trump’s harmful decision.”

Yes, we had good meetings and we raised this issue. It was also a commitment @POTUS it’s important to do it, and it’s important to comply with Trump’s detrimental decision, compliance, and reversal. https://t.co/gGYTnvG7h0

– Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) September 3, 2021

But just as some Democrats are backing the consulate’s commitment, Republicans are uniting against it.

In October, Republican senators Bill Hagerty and Marco Rubio introduced a bill that would prevent the opening of a diplomatic post for Palestinians in Jerusalem. “It is horrible that the Biden Administration continues to express its support for the reopening of a consulate in Jerusalem, which calls into question its status as the capital of Israel,” Rubio said in a statement.

The bill, promoted by 39 Republicans, has little chance of being passed in a Democratic-controlled Congress, but it highlights the political risks it would bring with the movement, as well as the willingness of Israeli hawks to sue. The House version of the bill introduced in October has 122 Republican sponsors.

Some Conservative Democrats, including a member of the House Josh GotteimerThey also warned Biden to reopen the consulate.

“The administration feels pressure on the part of the Israelis and is not ready for a serious conflict that will jeopardize the relationship. [Israel] Above all, the administration is deeply concerned about something symbolic, ”Jahshan said.

What do US Palestinian rights advocates say?

Many Palestinian rights activists have expressed regret over Biden’s failure to fulfill his election promise to reopen the consulate.

Activists told Al Jazeera that the US president was running as a pro-Israel candidate, but courted Arab and Muslim voters with minor Israeli-Palestinian policy changes. They said that so far, Biden has largely followed Trump’s anti-Palestinian policy:

• Amer Zahr, a Palestinian-American comedian and activist: “Biden promised to open a consulate in East Jerusalem in particular. Now, basically, that has been left to the whims of the Israelites; the Israelites do not want this to happen, so it does not happen. He has broken all the promises he made to the Palestinian American community.
• Ahmad Abuznaid, Executive Director of the US Palestinian Rights Campaign (USCPR): “Not only is the Palestinian people not a priority for the Biden administration, but the administration continues to stand firm against the development of human rights and dignity. For the Palestinian people.”
• I hate Abudayyeh, Co-founder of the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN): “Biden will not open a consulate in East Jerusalem. Tell me again what makes Biden Palestine different than Trump, Bush, Obama or anyone else?