US Democratic members of Congress will appeal to US president Joe Biden in the coming days to end his effort to reopen a consulate in Jerusalem for Palestinians, Yisrael Hayom reported.

It will be the first time that senior members of the Democratic Party will publicly oppose Biden’s move.

Senior Democratic members of Congress met last week in Washington with the chairman of the Binyamin Regional Council Yisrael Gantz and his political adviser Ruth Lieberman. The two explained that the reopening of the consulate would be a violation of both US and Israeli law and a breach of diplomatic norms.

“The members of Congress we met understand that the opening of the consulate means a violation of Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem, and even a violation of American sovereignty since the relocation of the embassy at the time was in fact a declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Gantz told Yisrael Hayom.

“It became clear that the consulate issue is not a partisan matter,” Lieberman added. “There are senior members of the Democratic Party who believe that opening the consulate is a dangerous step for Jerusalem and will not hesitate to express opposition to the move.”

Gantz and Lieberman also met with 60 Republican members of the House of Representatives.

Last week, 35 Republican senators led by Senator Bill Hagerty (TN) introduced a bill intended to block the Biden administration’s plan to reopen the consulate.

Also last week, a US State Department official admitted – in response to a question by Hagerty – that the Biden administration cannot open a consulate in Jerusalem without Israel’s consent.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)