From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Palestinian PM says he pushed US envoy to reopen consulate in Jerusalem
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The United States diplomatic envoy for Israel and Palestinian affairs, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hady Amr, meets with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in Ramallah, Shtayyeh’s office says in a statement.
During their conversation, Shtayyeh again calls for the US to speedily reopen its Jerusalem consulate, which served the US representative to the Palestinians before it was shuttered in 2019. Washington has committed itself to reopening the office, a move that requires Israeli approval.
According to his office, the Palestinian premier asks the US to revisit “legislation relating to the Palestinian issue,” likely referring to a series of laws that tightly limit American aid to the Palestinians and classify the Palestine Liberation Organization as a terror group.
Shtayyeh also tells Amr that the PA still intends to hold elections as soon as Israel allows Palestinians to vote in East Jerusalem. PA President Mahmoud Abbas indefinitely delayed the long-anticipated vote in April despite years of promises to hold elections. Most observers charged that he feared an embarrassing loss to his rivals in Hamas and within his own Fatah party.
Amr has been on a visit to Israel and the West Bank since Sunday, meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials and civil society activists, according to the US State Department.
The Times of Israel Community.