The pessimistic scenario described by Israeli diplomats around the story of the American Consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem may come true in a few weeks, after the Knesset budget is approved. Thomas Mobiles, the designated US Ambassador to Israel (replacing David Friedman), will arrive at the famous building on Agron Street - currently the official residence of the US Ambassador to Israel. Until about two years ago, this building housed the American Consulate in Jerusalem - the one that former President Trump closed; The one that functioned from the Israeli capital for many years as the American representative to East Jerusalem and the territories of the Palestinian Authority and Gaza, and was subordinate to the US State Department and not to the embassy in Tel Aviv.
Under the direction of his master in Washington, Nablus - despite Israeli opposition - will take a unilateral step. It will replace the consulate sign, and will again separate the activities of the embassy that Trump transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and the activities of the consulate that will deal with Palestinian affairs. This is how de facto two American diplomatic entities from the capital of Israel will operate: one, the embassy, will deal with Israeli affairs in the Green Line. The second, the consulate, will actually function as an embassy and will deal with Palestinians from the east of the city, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria.
Foreign Ministry professionals call this an "introduction to the division of Jerusalem." They emphasize that the significance of such a move, backed by President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, will be an appeal if not a reversal of Trump's US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. The Palestinians
understand this. He clarified a few days ago (a report by "Look at the Palestinian Media") that "the message from the new American administration is that Jerusalem is not a united Israeli city, and that the American administration does not recognize the annexation of Arab Jerusalem by the Israeli side. The Palestinian. " Eshtiya explained that "the American move distances the United States from the view that Jerusalem is one city, which was the basis for the decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem."
The campaign against the move, which the Americans do not hide their intention to carry out, will soon meet two more American decisions that should complete it.
The first - the United States seeks to reopen the consulate is not only a thesaurus but also the extension of its Hmzrh-iroslmit, this operation until 2010 Nablus road (and then passed property tax). Dialogue with the Palestinians on this possibility has already begun.
Extension of Hmzrh-iroslmit The consulate has for years assisted in the establishment of the PA's government institutions and security services, and has even provided the Washington administration with "incriminating" data on Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria and in the Jewish neighborhoods in the east of the city, so that they can act against it.
Dr. Dori Gould // Photo: The Jerusalem Center for Public and State Affairs,
Embarrassment after the budget?
The second future decision that may be implemented is the reopening of the PLO delegation in Washington. A group of Democratic congressmen from the party's progressive wing is preparing the ground for the move. The law, led by Michigan Congressman Andy Levin, will pass the U.S. House of Representatives.
As Caroline Glick reported in this supplement, Levin seeks to amend the 1987 anti-terrorism law so that the PLO representation in Washington can be reopened. In that historic law, the United States defined the PLO as a terrorist organization, and banned it from opening an office in its territory. Or gain American financial aid as long as the organization and its members do not stop engaging in terrorism.
The possibility of a unilateral move by Washington in the case of the American consulate in Jerusalem is embarrassing at the top of Israel, especially after the Americans understood Foreign Minister Yair Lapid that it was a question of timing and not a question of essence (Ariel Kahana's exposure in "Israel Today").
The Americans therefore agreed to postpone the opening of the consulate until after the approval of the state budget in the Knesset, in order to allow the government to stabilize politically.
Lapid's position, assuming that he did present it, as the Americans claim (Lapid denies) - is not acceptable to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. "That may bring back at the front door the 'old' American policy, one that seeks to divide Jerusalem and establish a Palestinian capital in the east of the city for a future Palestinian state."
When insiders talk about the "old policy," it requires a reminder and explanation: For decades, U.S. presidential candidates, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, promised to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem - but when elected, they refrained from paying the bill.
The "US Embassy Law in Jerusalem," enacted by Congress in 1995, ostensibly obliged governments to relocate the embassy to the Israeli capital, but U.S. presidents for generations have annually signed decrees temporarily postponing it.
The Obama administration, the Bush administration and their predecessors have often bothered to scrub the caption "Jerusalem, Israel" from official photos of the administration, leaving only the caption "Jerusalem" on the photos.
The State Department even refused to register in the American passport of U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem that their place of birth is "Jerusalem, Israel."
Dr. Michael Oren // Photo: Miriam Tzachi,
"Receive an award for nothing"
Dr. Michael Oren, who served as Israel's ambassador to Washington, recalled this week how he was once summoned to the State Department and reprimanded for demolishing an outdoor toilet building in East Jerusalem, "demolition approved by a court in Israel," he said. "" I was born in the building of the American Consulate in Jerusalem. "
Oren says that he addressed the heads of the Jewish organizations: Everything there was a Palestinian narrative, only in Arabic and English. It was not possible to learn from the site that there was a single Jew in Jerusalem. I told them - it's antisemitic, do something. They were not willing to go against the State Department. The consulate was careful to prevent even a semblance of American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and made the lives of governments for generations here bitter at every event of building a new neighborhood for Jews in the city, and whenever they tried to enforce planning and building laws in East Jerusalem.
Donald Trump, as is well known, changed reality - but the Biden administration, in its early days, tried to turn the wheel back. As early as January, the definition of the role of the US ambassador to Israel on the Twitter page of the embassy in Israel was changed from "US ambassador to Israel" to "ambassador to Israel, Gaza and the West Bank." Public criticism led to a rapid retreat and the return of the old title, but the trend was clear.
Former Foreign Ministry Director General Dr. Dori Gold, now president of the Jerusalem Center for Public and State Affairs, believes that Israel should put things on the table and make it clear to the United States what it can do, and what it is not and is not allowed to do. "Our real room for maneuver - the Americans will respect this," he estimates. he says.
is it possible at all to prevent such an American move, if it is done unilaterally, as we have heard hints?
Gold: "maybe not, but then it will take a thorough discussion about the possibility of a move to take an Israeli response, such as the expansion of Jerusalem. There are more ideas. I do not want to expand on that, but it is certainly not possible without a response.
"USA"B. claims that the consulate has existed here for decades, without Israel demanding to close it.
Gould: "We judge the existing reality. For decades the Palestinian Authority did not exist and today it does exist. For 19 years Jerusalem was divided with fences and a border, and for 54 years it has been an undivided city. Things change. If they had opened a consulate in Ramallah - I would not "I would be enthusiastic, but I would understand that. If they had opened a consulate after the Palestinian Authority stopped paying salaries to the families of the terrorists, I would not accept the consulate in Jerusalem, but I would understand the demand. But the Palestinians did not change their behavior - and receive a reward."
Is opening a US consulate for Palestinians in the capital a move that nullifies American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel?
Gould: "It could lead there and pave a way. It should be remembered that there is a 1963 Vienna Convention - signed by Israel and the United States - that requires the consent of the host country to open a consulate.
To do it unilaterally - without Israel's consent - is breaking tools. "
Maybe the war against the consulate, which is ultimately a symbol, is the wrong war? Perhaps it would be more appropriate to invest the energies in front of the United States in insisting on construction in Atarot, and on Mount Homa, and on Airplane Hill and Island 1, construction that can shape the city's boundaries for generations?
Gould: "There is no contradiction between the two. I, in any case, do not see the United States today as enabling a policy that recognizes Israel's right to build in the territories that were part of Jordan before 1967. Coordination with the United States is vital and important, but the story of the consulate is critical, and there is no room for compromise. It belongs to the affairs of the soul of the state. Our right must not be compromised in all of Jerusalem. "
Gould states that he explained these rights in 2017 in great detail, before a committee of the US House of Representatives.
"The members there understood that," he says, "the formal reality now is still such that for the United States, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
"The United States has not withdrawn from recognizing this. In this reality, we must adhere to and conduct the struggle against the United States with wisdom and sensitivity, but especially with determination and faith."
He makes it clear that he himself does not differentiate between the west of the city and the east.
"There is one Jerusalem, but the result of opening a consulate on Agron Street in the west of the city will be not only an appeal to Israeli sovereignty in the capital, but also a severe blow to the status that Israel had in West Jerusalem before 1967."
Creative compromise and solution
Michael Oren, a former ambassador to the United States, is also convinced that if the administration takes a unilateral step and reopens the consulate, Israel should continue to fight against the move. On them now, "he says." It must be borne in mind that it will have a price of condemnation and possibly sanctions - so it must be carefully considered whether we can bear the price. It is a strategic question, but a struggle - on one level or another - we will have to continue to wage, if God forbid the Americans tweet about all the rules. "
Oren alludes to creative solutions, which are talked about behind the scenes. He refrained from elaborating on them. Still, here are a few of them who came to the table and became known for "Israel of the Week": Consulate in Abu Dis (the Americans deny); Defining the role of the consulate as a diplomatic entity that will deal only with visa and cultural matters (Israel does not believe that Americans will meet this); US statement that the opening of the consulate does not reflect a change in the administration's position on recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Israeli sovereignty over the city (there is little chance that the administration in Washington will agree);
Still, Oren clarifies: "We must stand our ground. I see a creep into that antisemitic policy, in which the ambassador to Washington is summoned for any illegal construction demolition in the east of the city, a summons for every brick placed in a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem beyond the Green Line. It is a matter of sovereignty and respect. "National. This is our capital. Even when it comes to our great friend, boundaries must be set. This is the moment when I expect our government to do so clearly, respectfully and firmly."
Ensuring that elections are held
The campaign against the opening of the consulate has been headed by former Jerusalem mayor MK Nir Barkat for many months. Barkat, he says, holds polls. "There is a large majority of the Jewish public against this move by the United States," he says. "Most of Yesh Atid's public also opposes this.
" When the State of Israel was established, "he recalls," it inherited the consulates that operated in the country before the establishment of the state and allowed them to continue operating, but also made sure not to allow, even once, throughout its existence. , Opening of a new consulate in Jerusalem. "Two diplomatic missions in one city is the division of Jerusalem," Barkat clarifies. "It has no other meaning. This is a finger in the eye for Israel. "If the Americans take a unilateral step, it is not only a violation of the Vienna Convention, but also an American message that the" great United States is unable to respect its most loyal partners. This could have a very strong effect on relations with the Americans. "
"I will not detail what alternatives are on the table as response measures, if the Americans take a unilateral step," says Barkat. "In my opinion, it is forbidden to go there. Opposition and coalition," he expresses hope, "should unite around my bill that prohibits the state from 'opening or establishing in Jerusalem a diplomatic mission that serves a foreign political entity.'"
Barkat warns of a chain accident. "There are no words in my mouth to describe the magnitude of the disaster if we do not act correctly and avoid this. Once the US unilaterally opens a consulate for the Palestinians here, more countries may take a similar step, and then we lose the ability to stop such a process in the future."
Meanwhile, the U.S. administration is preparing the ground for the move, and has approved a budget to operate the consulate in the west of the city.
Inquiries have also begun regarding the opening of a branch of the consulate in the east of the city as well.
The opening of the consulate, a U.S. source clarified, "is a guarantee of Biden's election. He owes it to large sections of the Democratic Party."
In Israel, on the other hand, a coalition official warns Americans that insisting on opening the consulate - even after the budget is approved - will undermine the Bennett-Lapid government and could serve Benjamin Netanyahu.
"There are ministers in the government who will not live with this thing, and may transfer their support to the opposition," warns the same source.
"I hope and believe that the Americans are taking that into account as well."