Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Motzei Shabbos publicly expressed their opposition to the Biden administration’s plan to open a consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.

In response to a question at a press conference about the passing of the budget on Motzei Shabbos, Bennett said that ” there is no place for an American consulate that serves the Palestinians in Jerusalem.”

“We have expressed our position consistently, quietly, without drama, and I hope it is understood. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel alone.”

Lapid reiterated Bennett’s message, saying that if the US wants to open a consulate for Palestinians in Ramallah, “we have no problem with that. But sovereignty in Jerusalem belongs to one country — Israel.”

Lapid dashed the Biden administration’s hopes that it would be able to proceed with its plans for a consulate once the budget was passed, making the coalition more stable.

“It’s not a question of politics,” Lapid said. ” It’s an Israeli objection on principle for opening a consulate in Jerusalem, which already has a US embassy.”

The spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Nabil Abu Rudeineh responded to Lapid’s comments, telling Reuters: “We will only accept a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state. That was what the U.S. administration had announced and had committed itself to doing.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)