US President Joe Biden is mulling the option of making a good will gesture to the Palestinian Authority during his upcoming planned visit to Israel, according to a report Monday night by Israel’s KAN 11 News public broadcaster.
פרסום ראשון | נשיא ארה”ב ביידן שוקל לבקר במזרח ירושלים במהלך ביקורו בישראל@gilicohen10 #חדשותהערב pic.twitter.com/Bj36fO2hNB
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) May 9, 2022
According to the report, Biden is considering the possibility of visiting eastern Jerusalem without an official Israeli presence along with him.
Such a move would be a direct slap in the face of the Israeli government and the people of Israel.
The idea of visiting the eastern section of the city – which includes the Old City of Jerusalem as well as multiple Arab neighborhoods – came up during preparatory meetings for the president’s visit next month.
The move would have concrete political implications, KAN 11 pointed out, since a visit by an American president to the eastern part of the capital could be seen as dividing Jerusalem and could even imply a non-recognition of Israeli sovereignty in that area.
Biden promised during his campaign to open a consulate for Palestinian Authority Arabs in eastern Jerusalem, a move opposed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as well as by Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
