At Israel’s request, the Biden administration will push off the reopening of the US consulate in Jerusalem as the de facto mission to the Palestinians until the government passes a budget, according to the Walla news site.
The US decision followed requests from the Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry, with the report asserting it shows how important it is to US President Joe Biden to shore up the new government and avoid harming it.
The news site also quotes an unnamed senior Israeli source saying that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is opposed to the consulate reopening, claiming it contradicts the 2017 US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
While Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump — who shuttered the consulate in 2019 — recognized the city as Israel’s capital, he specified his decision was not meant to take a stance on the boundaries of Jerusalem, the eastern portion of which is claimed by the Palestinians.
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