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Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-709232
Upgrading U.S.-Palestinian Relations in Jerusalem Impacts Status as Israel's Capital
(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - The upgrading of the U.S. State Department's Jerusalem office to the Palestinians as the "U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem" is not merely cosmetic. It is a sign of President Biden's desire to reopen a U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem to serve the Palestinians, reversing the action by his predecessor. The issue is not about whether there should be a consulate to handle Palestinian affairs, but why a U.S. Consulate for the Palestinians should be based in Jerusalem and not, for example, in Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority's seat of government. It would be unprecedented to have both the U.S. Embassy to one country and the de facto embassy to a foreign entity operating from the same city. Upgrading ties with the Palestinians in return for nothing but intransigence does nothing to encourage the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. Israel must continue to make clear to the U.S. that reopening the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem is a red line on which the broad spectrum of Israeli society agrees.