When the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem opened in 2018, it took over the functions previously provided by the American consulate in the city, which was promptly shuttered. The White House now hopes to reopen the consulate to serve as a mission to the Palestinians. Eugene Kontorovich explains why Israel is right to oppose the move:
The U.S. embassy in Jerusalem already provides consular services to the Palestinians. It is unheard of to have an independent consulate in the same city where a country has an embassy.
The U.S. does not want to open a consulate merely to have a place for diplomatic liaisons with the Palestinian Authority (PA). If that is all it wanted, it could easily do this by opening a mission in Abu Dis or Ramallah—where most other countries conduct their relations with the PA. . . . But by instead demanding that Israel accede to a consulate in Jerusalem, the administration is showing [that it wishes] to recognize Palestinian claims to Jerusalem. If the PA has no legitimate claim to Jerusalem, there can be no reason to have a consulate there.
Opening the consulate would turn the clock back to before the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem. The Biden administration knows it does not have domestic support to unrecognize Jerusalem completely—so it is catering to far-left demands by undoing the natural consequences of recognition. This would be a big deal: since the creation of the state, no Israeli government of any political inclination has allowed the opening of a diplomatic mission not to Israel. This would be unprecedented. While there are a few European consulates in Jerusalem not accredited to Israel, these predate the creation of the state.
Read more on Israel Hayom: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/why-the-us-really-wants-a-palestinian-consulate-in-jlem/