Blinken to discuss moribund Jerusalem consulate reopening in Israel

By Jacob Magid

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24 March 2022, 9:08 pm

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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

A flag of the United States flies outside the then-US consulate building in Jerusalem, on March 4, 2019. (Ariel Schalit/AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will raise the issue of the US Consulate in Jerusalem during his meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders next week, Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Yael Lempert tells reporters.

Blinken had announced that the US would reopen the consulate during his last visit to the region in May. The mission had served as the de facto mission to the Palestinians before it was shuttered by former US president Donald Trump in 2019.

Since Blinken’s announcement though, no progress has been made on the matter, and several sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel in December that the plan had effectively been shelved due to Israeli opposition.

Lempert tells reporters during a briefing that the issue will be raised, but does not specify whether the US is still hoping to advance the matter, which had been a campaign promise of US President Joe Biden.