Source: United States Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss)
HYDE-SMITH SUPPORTS MEASURE OPPOSING U.S. PALESTINIAN CONSULATE IN JERUSALEM
Cosponsors Resolution Reaffirming Undivided U.S. Embassy in Israeli Capital
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) this week cosponsored a resolution reaffirming the position that the United States should be represented by a single diplomatic mission in Jerusalem and opposing any effort to establish a separate consulate for Palestinian affairs.
S.Con.Res.34 was introduced by U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) in response to repeated signals that the Biden administration intends to establish a consulate general in Jerusalem devoted to Palestinian affairs. In addition to stating opposition to such a consulate, the resolution also stresses that the plan violates the intent of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act and represents an affront to Israel.
“Under no circumstances should the United States give radical extremist groups ground to stand on, and a consulate general for Palestinian affairs would do just that,” Hyde-Smith said. “This resolution makes clear that we oppose any plan that would further embolden non-state actors, and greatly undercut our Israeli friends.”
The resolution also states any effort to establish such a consulate would require congressional authorization and that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem already has a Palestinian Affairs Unit. A separate consulate or diplomatic missions would also provide validation to non-state actors in the Middle East such as the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that seek to contest and undermine Israel’s sovereignty over its capital city.
The resolution, available here, is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Steve Daines (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.).
Last October, Hyde-Smith also cosponsored the Upholding the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Law Act of 2021 (S.3063) to stop Biden administration efforts to subvert the full and faithful implementation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 by reopening separate consulate services for the Palestinians.
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