The Biden regime has raised diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority, in what diplomats alert is the initial step to rolling back the United States’ historical acknowledgment of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The State Department validated to the Washington Free Beacon that a brand-new Office of Palestinian Affairs will be developed in Jerusalem and act individually of the U.S. ambassador to Israel’s workplace there. The development of a different diplomatic office boosts U.S. relations with the Palestinian federal government and might breach the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which mandated that a single U.S. embassy be developed in the holy city.
The State Department likewise validated that it is working to go even further– opening a main Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem completely independent of the U.S. embassy in Israel. Efforts to develop this diplomatic center have actually been stymied by Israel’s opposition to the initiative, and the current development of the Palestinian Affairs officeis considered a short-term workaround. This would set the stage for the Capital of Israel to once again be viewed by the United States as divided between Israeli and Palestinian territories, a situation the Israelis will never allow.
Previous U.S. diplomats who spoke with the Free Beacon about the relocation stated the Biden administration is attempting to weaken President Donald Trump’s acknowledgment of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which got rid of an official difference in between West and East Jerusalem. By developing a workplace committed to the Palestinian federal government in the city, the administration is resuming the possibility of enabling that federal government to presume control of parts of the city.
“Opening a diplomatic office to the Palestinians in Jerusalem after the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, making it clear Jerusalem is part of Israel, has the same disastrous consequences as opening a formal consulate,” David Milstein, who served as special assistant to former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman, told the Free Beacon. “This decision is a blatant effort to begin to unravel the implementation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and circumvent Israel’s clear opposition to a formal consulate, especially since the Biden administration admits this step is part of its plan to still open a consulate.”
The purported motivation behind this move “is to walk back the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, erode Israel’s sovereignty over its capital city, and signal support for dividing Jerusalem. It is outrageous and shameful,” Milstein said. “Members of Congress should use every tool at their disposal to block implementation of this decision.”
A State Department spokesperson, speaking just on background, validated the development of the brand-new Palestinian workplace and stated U.S. diplomats in the area are pushing the Israeli federal government to permit the complete resuming of the Palestinian consulate. The Israeli federal government opposes this relocation.
The Palestinian affairs office “operates under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, and reports on substantive matters directly to the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau in the State Department,” the spokesperson stated, verifying reports that the ambassador to Israel will no longer be spoken with on concerns managed by this office.
The Biden administration is allegedly “committed to re-opening our consulate in Jerusalem,” the spokesman confirmed. “We continue to believe it is an important way for our country to engage with and provide support to the Palestinian people.”
Jason Greenblatt, a former White House envoy to the Middle East and author of the book In the Path of Abraham, explained the choice as a concession to the Palestinian federal government, which prompts terrorism versus Israel and pays wages to convicted terrorists.
“Even more troubling is the reversal of the chain of command established by the Trump administration,” Greenblatt told the Free Beacon. “It is extremely bad practice for reporting on Palestinian affairs to go directly to the State Department without being run through the U.S. ambassador to Israel. So many of the issues they are responsible for are intertwined, and so much can be missed, misconstrued, or manipulated when the chain of command is disrupted.”
Greenblatt stated his time in the White House revealed him that separating this objective helped a “broken system” that calmed Palestinian management while damaging U.S.-Israeli relations.”By trying to appease the Palestinian leadership with this empty gesture, we hurt our critical ally Israel and we hurt the United States—we hurt our national security, our diplomatic efforts and we waste precious U.S. taxpayer money,” he said.
rsen Ostrovsky, and Israeli human rights lawyer who acts as chair and CEO of International Legal Forum, an advocacy group, stated the production of this workplace marks “a transparent attempt by the Biden Administration to go round the back door, with a de-facto consulate in clear attempt to water down the Trump Administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”It likewise signifies that the Biden administration is challenging Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem.
Republican diplomacy leaders likewise pushed back on the move.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R., Tenn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the State Department is circumventing the Israeli government in order to create “an unofficial U.S. consulate” to the Palestinians, in violation of the law.
“I unequivocally oppose this plan for what appears to be a new unofficial U.S. diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital,” Hagerty said. “This plan is inconsistent with the full and faithful implementation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and suggests that the administration is once again trying to undermine America’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal and undivided capital.”
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R., N.Y.), a House Foreign Affairs Committee member, stated the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act was particularly produced to prevent this scenario.
“Palestinian Authority leadership has made it abundantly clear that their push for this action is for the purpose of dividing Jerusalem,” Zeldin said. “The United States unilaterally making this concession to the Palestinian Authority in exchange for no concessions in return has been proven to be a failed policy time and again.”
H/T The Washington Free Beacon
