In the latest update, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that he was against the possible reopening of a US consulate for the Palestinians in Jerusalem.
No Room For Another Consulate In Jerusalem
Benett attended a recent press conference after the Israeli parliament passed the annual budget for 2022. The Prime Minister said that he has informed the US administration that there is no room for another consulate in Jerusalem.
The US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a news briefing last week that Washington has been very clear about their intentions to reopen the consulate for Palestinians. Until 2018, the US had had two consulates in Jerusalem, one for the Palestinians and one for the Israelis.
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After the former US President Donald Trump recognized the city as the capital of Israel, the two consulates were merged and housed in a new embassy.
This comes after the relations between the US and the Palestinians have soured during the Trump administration. However, after the US President Joe Biden entered the White House in January this year, he had made several moves to improve the relationship with the Palestinians. On of the steps was the decision to re-open the consulate in Jerusalem for Palestinians.
“No President Has Been A Better Friend To The State of Israel”
This comes after recently former President Donald Trump informed the Republican Jewish Coalition that no president has been a better friend to Israel. He said that his administration’s actions favoured the country including the moving of the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
Although he hasn’t informed about his plans for the 2024 elections, he anticipated that the republicans would win the white building.
