US committed to reopening consulate in Jerusalem, says official

The United States remains committed to reopening its consulate in Jerusalem, the State Department announced yesterday.

The department’s spokesperson, Ned Price, said that his government would be “further discussing the issue with Israelis and Palestinians.”

In 2018, former US President Donald Trump moved the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and closed a separate facility in the occupied city that served as a consulate for Palestinians.

The incumbent President Joe Biden’s administration has pledged to reopen the facility without specifying a date. Israel, however, has publicly opposed the plan and suggested that such a mission should be outside occupied East Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank.

“There are a number of steps that have to go into the reopening of any diplomatic facility. As you know, there are some shall we say unique sensitivities to this particular facility,” Price explained.

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