America to reopen Jerusalem consulate, vows aid for Gaza
The US move restores ties with Palestinians that had been downgraded during the Trump era
JERUSALEM: US secretary of state Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that the US would reopen its consulate general in Jerusalem - a move that restores ties with Palestinians that had been downgraded by the Trump administration.
The consulate long served as an autonomous office in charge of diplomatic relations with the Palestinians. But former US president Donald Trump downgraded its operations and placed them under the authority of his envoy to Israel when he moved the embassy to Jerusalem.
Trump’s move infuriated the Palestinians, who view east Jerusalem as occupied territory and the capital of their future state.
Blinken, Abbas meet
Blinken did not give a precise date for reopening the consulate. He announced the step after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. The US is trying to back Abbas in his rivalry with Gaza’s ruling Hamas militant group and on the international stage.
“I’m here to underscore the commitment of the United States to rebuilding the relationship with the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people,” he said.
Blinken is in the region to help shore up the ceasefire last week that ended a devastating 11-day war between Israel and Hamas that killed more than 250 people, mostly Palestinians.
He later announced nearly $40 million in aid to the Palestinians, including $5.5 million in emergency assistance for Gaza. That brings total US assistance to the Palestinians under the Biden administration to over $360 million after the Trump administration had cut off nearly all assistance to them.
The truce that came into effect on Friday has so far held, but it did not address any of the underlying issues in the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, something Blinken acknowledged after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We know that to prevent a return to violence, we have to use the space created to address a larger set of underlying issues and challenges. And that begins with tackling the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and starting to rebuild,” he said.
Netanyahu hardly mentioned the Palestinians in his remarks after his meeting with Blinken, warning of a powerful response if Hamas breaks the ceasefire.