Republicans in Congress condemn Biden for upgrading Palestinian Affairs UnitSen. Bill Hagerty, Rep. Lee Zeldin, and 80s legislators release statement condemning Administration intention to upgrade the PA Unit in Jerusalem, signaling a willingness to divide Israel's capital.
Washington,
June 23, 2022
United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY-01) today led more than 80 Members of Congress in releasing a bicameral joint statement, calling on the Biden Administration to reverse course on what they termed "its plan to erode the full and faithful implementation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995" by moving the Palestinian Affairs Unit (PAU) out of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel’s reporting chain of command and renaming the PAU the “U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs” that would serve as an unofficial U.S. consulate to the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem. “It is alarming that the Biden Administration has opened what amounts to be a separate U.S. diplomatic office to the Palestinians in Israel’s capital. This decision is wholly inconsistent with the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 that Congress passed into law and has repeatedly reaffirmed with overwhelming bipartisan support over the years. We strongly supported the Trump Administration’s decision to fully and faithfully implement the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 by formally recognizing Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of Israel, by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and by closing the U.S. Consulate General for the Palestinians in Jerusalem and merging its functions into the U.S. Embassy’s ‘Palestinian Affairs Unit’ within one diplomatic mission under the authority the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. The Biden Administration’s disregard for that law, however, undermines our nation’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and signals support for dividing Jerusalem," they said. “Let there be no misunderstanding: this unprecedented arrangement—to turn the Palestinian Affairs Unit into a ‘U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs’ that will no longer report to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel but instead report directly to the State Department in Washington, D.C., and to appoint a Special Envoy to the Palestinians—is an effort to open an unofficial and de facto U.S. consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem. In fact, the Biden Administration admits this decision is one step closer to opening an official U.S. consulate, a plan it refuses to stop pushing despite the Government of Israel’s adamant opposition and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Brian McKeon’s admission to Congress in October 2021 that the United States, under international law, would ‘need to get the consent of the host government to open any diplomatic facility.’ |
