'No room' for U.S.-Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem: Israel
Israel has stepped up its opposition to a U.S. consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem.
The administration of U.S president Joe Biden says it wants to reopen the consulate - which was closed under his predecessor Donald Trump.
Israel's Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, said on Saturday (November 6) that they agree with the Americans on the majority of issues... but not this.
"...there is no room for another American consulate in Jerusalem. We always present our position quietly without drama and we expect it to be understood. Jerusalem is the capital of one state and that is the state of Israel."
Trump closed the Jerusalem consulate and placed its staff within the U.S. Embassy to Israel, which he relocated from Tel Aviv to Jersualem.
It was a move that delighted the Israeli administration, and outraged Palestinians.
Biden is seeking to repair ties, though a date for the consulate to reopen has not been given.
But Israel's foreign minister suggested the consulate could be located in the West Bank city Ramallah, instead of Jerusalem.
A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected that suggestion saying that they will "only accept a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state".
