PA Prime Minister: ‘Consulate in Jerusalem Will Be Nucleus for US Embassy in Palestine’

“We want an American address that will … express the recognition that Jerusalem is occupied Arab land.”

By Baruch Yedid, TPS

“The reopening of the American Consulate in Jerusalem is the most important issue for the Palestinians,” Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh declared Monday in a meeting with activists in Tulkarm, after the cabinet meeting.

“We are focusing on the consulate because we want an American address that will take care of Palestinian affairs and form the nucleus of an American embassy in Palestine and express the recognition that Jerusalem is occupied Arab land,” Shtayyeh said.

“There is a great deal of anger in the Palestinian Authority over the lukewarm American stance on the Palestinian issue,” a senior PA official told TPS, adding that “the chances of resuming the diplomatic process are slim as things stand now.”

Shtayyeh said that “the only issue the US has committed to so far is the renewal of funding for UNRWA” and added that “the political vacuum continues due to the fact that the current US administration has so far not appointed a special representative for the peace process. It seems that the Middle East is not a priority for the current administration.”

Along with the pessimism at the top of the PA following the understanding that the United States is not working to renew the political process vis-à-vis Israel, the PA prime minister is still pushing the consulate in Jerusalem, despite strong Israeli opposition.