US renews pledge to re-open Consulate in Jerusalem

American Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs, Hady Amr, reiterated on Wednesday that the Biden administration is still committed to re-opening the Consulate in Jerusalem.

In a special briefing, he said: “I want to be clear that the US also remains committed to re-opening our Consulate general in Jerusalem.”

He added: “We continue to believe that re-opening the Consulate would put the US in the best position to engage with and provide support to the Palestinian people.”

Amr continued; “We’re going to continue to discuss this issue with our Israeli and Palestinian partners.”

The US official reiterated that the Americans are currently having “a dedicated team of colleagues on the ground working in Jerusalem, in our Office of Palestinian Affairs, focused every single day on engagement with, and outreach to Palestinians.”

US President Joe Biden pledged during his campaign to re-open the Jerusalem Consulate, but held off during the term of the last Israeli government led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, who warned that it would risk toppling their coalition.

Amr also said: “The US-Palestinian relationship goes back to the 1800s when we opened our first diplomatic mission in Jerusalem.  So we’re focused on the future and lifting up the lives of ordinary Palestinians.”

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