WASHINGTON – The chairman of a group of more than 300 ex-IDF generals and security agency chiefs wrote a letter Monday to Israeli lawmakers and cabinet members asking them to support the Biden administration’s plan to reopen the US consulate in Jerusalem. urged to do.
Last May, Washington announced it would reopen the mission that historically served as the Palestinians’ representative office and was closed by former President Donald Trump in 2019. Jerusalem opposed the plan, saying it encroaches upon its sovereign in the city, which it should not. Host diplomatic missions serving non-Israelis.
in that LetterThe commanders of Israel’s security chairman, Mutton Vilnai, argued that supporting the move would be in line with the new Israeli government’s declared policies of strengthening the Palestinian Authority and “decreasing the conflict”.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid have spoken out in support of the former concept, while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who opposes diplomatic talks with the PA and refuses to meet with its president, Mahmoud Abbas, has spoken out at their meetings. I have preferred to emphasize the latter condition. American officer.
“Certain political/diplomatic measures – without any security aspect – can make a major contribution to strengthening the PA’s stature among Palestinians, stabilizing its governance capacity and therefore greater security by reopening the US consulate.” can secure the continuity of coordination,” argued. Vilnai, whose group works to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Vilnai said pushing back the Biden administration’s plan could hurt Jerusalem’s efforts to rebuild ties with Democrats and broader bipartisan support for Israel in the US.
Former cabinet minister and IDF general Matan Villanai. (flash 90)
“The reopening of the consulate is bound to elevate US-PA dialogue, thus enhancing Washington’s ability to influence PA policies on matters of importance to Israel,” he said.
He warned lawmakers against “our tendency to artificially magnify issues out of existence”.
“It was not the existence of the consulate that divided Jerusalem; its closure did not unite the city; nor did its renewal in any way affect the independence of the sovereign decisions of this or future governments in relation to the fate of the city.” Will do,” said Vilnai.
Separately on Monday, US Congressman Josh Gottheimer became the first Democrat to oppose the reopening of the consulate.
“The United States has never opened a diplomatic office without the approval of the host government, and doing so in Israel would create a double standard,” the Hawkish Democrat said in a statement. “Any decision on this issue must be made with the consent of Israel and the recognition that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel.”
Gottheimer Joins Almost Everyone else’s Camp Republican On this issue, with opponents of the Biden plan falling in line with Israel’s position.
Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer. (screen capture/youtube)
Israel must actually recognize the consular general sent by the US to Jerusalem in accordance with diplomatic protocol, which makes it impossible for Washington to take such a step without some sort of horse-drawn from the government.
However, the property from which the Biden administration plans to operate the consulate on Agron Street in West Jerusalem is already owned by the US government, so no new Israeli permission would be needed on that front. The building has been open since the consulate closed, but staff inside were turned over to the new US embassy in the city, called the Palestine Affairs Unit – a move that Palestinians see as a downgrading of their relations. Huh. we.
The PA State Department has largely considered PAU diplomats to be non grte personalities, with diplomats refusing to meet with their US counterparts. However, Abbas has been meeting in recent months with the embassy’s interim in-charge d’affaires Michael Ratney and PAU chief George Knoll, Washington and Jerusalem officials. Confirmed To The Times of Israel last month.
Bennett and Lapid held a Joint press conference earlier this month where they doubled down on their opposition to the reopening of the consulate. Lapid proposed that the mission be reopened in Ramallah – an idea that the Palestinians rejected outright, and insisted that they also claim Jerusalem, the eastern part of which they would claim as a part of their future state. as the capital.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (right) and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid speak at a news conference in Jerusalem on November 6, 2021. (Haim Zach / GPO)
At Lapid’s request, the US agreed earlier this month to hold off on reopening the consulate until the new Israeli government passed a budget that is believed to support the coalition for the foreseeable future. will stabilize. Washington was under the impression that the request to delay the reopening of Lapid contained a recognition and acceptance that it would eventually happen, sources in Jerusalem and Washington have told TOI.
But Lapid and the Israeli government have since hardened their position, and the issue appears to be snowballing into the first diplomatic rift between the two new governments. Bennett told a group of Democratic lawmakers last week that while he would not try to “political points” on the issue and believes reopening the consulate was a campaign promise from Biden, he would like to allow the move. Not planning, a Congress ally Confirmed To TOI.
The US declined to give a timeline for when it plans to pursue the move.