In a step to help build a collaborative dialogue, the Biden administration would reopen its consulate in Jerusalem, the West Bank, which had served as a de facto embassy for the Palestinians until former President Donald Trump shuttered it in 2019.
According to an official statement released by the U.S. Department of State, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “That’s an important way for the United States to engage with and provide support to the people of Palestine.”
Blinken made this statement to the press after the extraordinary meetings with Palestinian Authority leaders in the West Bank.
It’s worth mentioning that Blinken met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah early Tuesday. A few hours later, the American official also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.
The Secretary of State arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, his first tour to the region coming on the heels of an 11-day conflict between Israeli and Hamas that killed more than 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis
