Blinken announces US plans to reopen Jerusalem consulate

After being downgraded by former President Trump, the move restores diplomatic ties with the Palestinians.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that the United States will reopen its consulate general in Jerusalem – a move that restores ties with Palestinians, which had been downgraded by the Trump administration. The consulate long served as an autonomous office in charge of diplomatic relations with the Palestinians. But former President Donald Trump downgraded its operations and placed them under the authority of his ambassador to Israel when he moved the embassy to Jerusalem. Those moves broke with longstanding US policy and infuriated Palestinians, who seek East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.