Measure would block Biden Administration’s plan to reopen U.S. Consulate for the Palestinians
U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith have joined over 30 Republican Senators in introducing Upholding the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Law Act of 2021 (S.3063). This legislation protects the placement of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and to block Biden administration plans to establish a separate U.S. Consulate for the Palestinians.
This bill protects the implementation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and blocks the Biden Administration’s efforts to subvert the law.
“The United States must fulfill its legal and moral commitments to the Israeli people, which includes maintaining our embassy, including all diplomatic missions, in Jerusalem. The Biden administration must not stray from the law as it reaches out to the leadership of the Palestinians, which is closely tied to Iran and terrorist organizations” Senator Hyde-Smith said.
Under the Trump Administration, the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 was implemented and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel by moving the U.S. Embassy to Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem. The U.S. Consulate General for the Palestines was closed and merged into U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem’s new Palestinian Affairs Unit (PAU) under the U.S. Ambassador to Israel’s Chief of Mission authority.
“Jerusalem is the capital and cultural center of the State of Israel, and U.S. policy should reflect that fact,” Senator Wicker said. “President Trump was right to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and I will continue to oppose any effort that would undermine U.S. diplomacy in Israel.”
U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn) introduced S.3063 and Senators Wicker and Hyde-Smith are original cosponsors.
Senator Hagerty said, “It is regrettable that the Biden Administration insists on making moves that divide the United States and Israel when our two nations should be laser-focused on stopping Iran’s terror-sponsoring regime from going nuclear, on countering growing threats from Hizballah, Hamas, and other Iran-backed terrorist groups, and on strengthening and expanding the historic Abraham Accords that truly have increased peace in the Middle East. The Trump Administration kept its promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, the eternal and indivisible capital of the Jewish State, and Congress must do everything in our power to strengthen our posture.”
Anne Summerhays
