In 2018, the Trump administration closed the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. “Relations with the Palestinians had been reduced to a portfolio within the American-Israeli relationship.” After Joe Biden took office soon after the Trump administration, they attempted to reopen the consulate. This was in order to rebuild diplomatic ties with the Palestinians. But, Jerusalem is very much against the reopening of the consulate because the Israeli right regards it as a sign of U.S. ambitions to one day divide Jerusalem into a shared capital for both Israel and a future Palestinian state, an idea they say is completely unacceptable to them. Israeli
The denial of the reopening of the consulate represents that Jerusalem doesn’t want the United States to be involved with their country. They say that it’s. “Completely unacceptable” shows how strongly they feel about the United States involvement. The Palestinians say that if we were to get involved we would divide Jerusalem into a shared capital for both Israel and a Palestinian state. This is completely reasonable, but the Israelites that are currently in power do not want to give any power to the Palestinians. We shouldn’t force ourselves on Jerusalem though because it could cause them to have resentment towards us.
This relates to class because it shows that the U.S. is trying to maintain the unipolar system by continuing to create and/or rebuild alliances. Also, according to the realist theory, if we were to intervene it would go against our national interest. This is true because we have nothing to gain by intervening with their countries’ diplomacy. This also relates because it shows the fluidity of alliances. This is seen with the Trump organization virtually ending their alliance with Jerusalem. Soon after, Biden attempted to bring it back.
