US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony BlinkenState Department Photo by Freddie Everett

The Palestinian Authority’s “Jerusalem affairs minister”, Fadi al-Hadami, said on Wednesday that the PA welcomes the US administration's decision to reopen its consulate general in eastern Jerusalem, noting that the move has important and significant political implications.

Hadami expressed hope that the US administration will soon open the consulate as a step towards recognizing a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.

He stressed the importance of the positions expressed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in his opposition to settlements, demolitions of homes and evictions of "rightful owners" from their homes.

Blinken's opposition to families being evicted from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem must be accompanied by real pressure on the Israeli government to stop the policy of "displacing" Palestinian residents from their homes, said Hadami.