Embarrassment in US administration on the eve of Biden's visit to Israel: White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby made it clear today (Wednesday) that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was wrong when he said the US wanted to open a consulate in East Jerusalem to serve the Palestinians.
Kirby made it clear that US policy on the issue has not changed, and the United States is still seeking to open the consulate - but in the west of the city.
The fifth president to do so: Joe Biden landed in Israel // Photo: Reuters
This is in fact the reopening of the consulate, which was closed by President Trump in 2019.
Israel opposes this move, and Prime Minister Yair Lapid made it clear in a briefing to reporters last week that he is not on the agenda - not even as a tribute to Biden's visit.
Lapid also clarified that it would be difficult to advance a political process with the Palestinians in the current conditions, despite the Americans' desire to do so: "The prime minister has changed, but the composition of the government remains the same," he clarified.
Recently, ahead of Biden's visit to the region, the U.S. State Department made an administrative change when it removed the Department of Palestinian Affairs from subordination to the embassy in Jerusalem, and transferred it to direct subordination to the State Department headquarters in Washington.
US President Joe Biden with Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen Photo: Issam Rimawi / Anadolu Agency
PM Yair Lapid, Photo: Amos Ben Gershom - GPO
In Jerusalem, they saw this as a tribute to Abu Mazen and an American signal of Washington's dissatisfaction with the Israeli opposition to the opening of a consulate for Palestinian affairs, but claimed that the move was coordinated with Israel.
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