From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Knesset committee approves bill to bar foreign countries setting up new consulates in Jerusalem
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
A bill prohibiting the establishment of new consulates in Jerusalem has been approved for its second and third readings by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
If passed into law the bill, sponsored by MKs Ze’ev Elkin (New Hope) and Dan Illouz (Likud), stipulates that no new consulates will be established in Jerusalem, while the government will encourage the establishment of foreign embassies in the city.
Most countries do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and base their embassies in Tel Aviv, often opening smaller consulates in Jerusalem.
Currently, five countries, the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo and Papua New Guinea, have embassies in Jerusalem.
“The bill came to deal with the pressures exerted on the State of Israel within the framework of the current worldview that does not see Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel,” says Elkin in a statement.
A source close to the matter explains that the bill is also intended to prevent the establishment of consular offices serving Palestinians in the Israeli capital.
