Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) have both clarified that the US' insistence on opening a consulate for Palestinian Authority Arabs is not to their liking.
When asked, both men said, "We oppose opening an American consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem. We have clearly told them this."
The statements were made during a question-and-answer session at the end of a Saturday night press conference.
MK Nir Barkat (Likud) said, "I am happy that in light of the public battle which we have led, the government backtracked on its negotiations on the issue of opening a consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem after the budget was passed. Now I call on the government to move from declarations to actions, and to publicly support the bill which I submitted, which will prevent via legislation the opening of Palestinian consulates. Jerusalem, the united capital of Israel, is not for sale."
The Sovereignty Movement responded, "The Sovereignty Movement wishes to express its support to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in wake of his firm stance against the establishment of an American consulate for the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, as expressed today (Saturday night) at the joint press conference with Minister Yair Lapid, who expressed his support for this position, and Minister Avigdor Liberman."
"The Prime Minister's statement that Jerusalem is the exclusive capital of the Jewish people is completely accurate. With these words, the Prime Minister has blocked a dangerous attempt to erode Israel’s sovereignty over the eternal capital of the Jewish people.
"Jerusalem stands above any political controversy. The entire people of Israel stands united behind this clear position and throws its support behind the Israeli government's resistance to pressure from the United States or any other party."
On Sunday, Israel Hayomreported that several US Democratic congressmen would appeal to US President Joe Biden, asking him to refrain from opening a consulate for the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem. The congressmen wished to avoid publishing their names so that their letter would have a better chance of changing the administration's position.
Last month, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) rallied 35 senators to submit a bill to the Senate to prevent the reopening of the US Consulate to the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem.
In an official press release, Hagerty (R-TN) said, "President Biden continues to push forward his inflammatory plan to establish a second mission in Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem — one for the Israelis and a second one for the Palestinians — despite the fact that this plan violates the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and is completely opposed by the Government of Israel."