WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) helped introduce a concurrent resolution, led by Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), reaffirming Congress’s position that the United States should be represented by a single diplomatic mission in Jerusalem. The Biden administration has previously stated its intent to create a consulate general in Jerusalem dedicated to Palestinian affairs; however the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which was enacted into law in 1995, recognizes Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel and states the U.S. embassy to Israel should be in Jerusalem. The United States closed a previous Consulate General for Palestinians when it opened its Jerusalem embassy in 2018. The resolution follows legislation that Hoeven helped introduce last year to uphold the 1995 Jerusalem Act.
“The Biden Administration’s plan to open a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem could be viewed as a challenge to Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem and Jerusalem’s status as an undivided city,” stated the resolution. “Congress opposes the establishment of a new Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem. The presence of a United States diplomatic mission devoted to a non-state actor in Israel’s sovereign capital would be an affront to the territorial integrity of a long-standing United States partner and ally.”
In addition to Hoeven, Cramer, and Lee, the resolution is cosponsored by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.).
The full text of the resolution can be read here.
