(JNS) Three-dozen Republican senators introduced a bill on Tuesday, Oct. 26, that aims to block the Biden administration’s plan to reopen the U.S. consulate for the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Upholding the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Law Act of 2021 was introduced by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and co-sponsored by 34 additional Republicans. It calls on the Biden administration to uphold the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and not reopen the U.S. Consulate to the Palestinians, which was merged into the U.S. embassy when it was relocated to Jerusalem in May 2018. “It is regrettable that the Biden administration insists on making moves that divide the United States and Israel when our two nations should be laser-focused on stopping Iran’s terror-sponsoring regime from going nuclear; on countering growing threats from Hezbollah, Hamas and other Iran-backed terrorist groups; and on strengthening and expanding the historic Abraham Accords that truly have increased peace in the Middle East,” Hagerty said in a statement.

In June, Hagerty also joined a group of Republican colleagues led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to press the Biden administration to adhere to U.S. law and refrain from reopening the Mission of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem for the Palestinians.

The Biden administration’s plan to reopen the consulate in Jerusalem remains a point of contention with Israel, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

Main Photo: The former U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, July 19, 2009. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.