The fate of the US consulate to the Palestinians hangs in the balance as Israel seeks to block a bid by Washington to reopen its mission in Jerusalem.
The diplomatic row comes as US President Joe Biden attempts to overhaul policy enacted by his predecessor Donald Trump, who repeatedly broke with international consensus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After Mr Trump announced the US embassy to Israel must be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the consulate to the Palestinians was subsumed into the new mission in 2019.
Since taking office in January, Mr Biden has stopped short of ordering American diplomats back to Tel Aviv which remains the centre for embassies to Israel.
His administration instead plans to reopen the consulate in Jerusalem, a proposal resolutely opposed by Israel.
“There is no place for a US consulate which serves the Palestinians in Jerusalem,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Saturday.
The right-wing Mr Bennett’s comments came a day after his government passed the budget, a major hurdle for the fragile coalition. The consulate issue is widely seen as the next challenge for the Cabinet, a broad alliance which includes Arab-Israelis and left-wing politicians.
“The new government under Naftali Bennett specifically asked the administration to hold off on reopening the consulate at least until the budget was passed in Israel,” said Jake Walles, a former US consul general in Jerusalem.
“The administration agreed to that,” said Mr Walles, who served in the Jerusalem mission from 2005 to 2009. The budget passed last week.
While Mr Bennett has been vocal in his criticism of Washington’s plans, the Biden administration has been wary of publicly airing the dispute.
“We’ve been very clear about our intentions,” Ned Price, spokesman for the US State Department, said last week without elaborating.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has urged the Biden administration to forge ahead with its plans, and said he is “sure that the United States does not need the permission” of Israel.
“I hope that while the current American administration is reversing things, we hope that they will reverse all things that have to do with Palestine, including the reopening of the consulate,” he said.
With Israeli and American officials at loggerheads over the affair, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has suggested the US instead move its consulate to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
"If they want to open a consulate in Ramallah, we have no problem with that," he said.
Some countries such as Germany have diplomatic missions in Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority.
But the PA has already dismissed such an idea and, as Mr Walles noted, the majority of consulates to the Palestinians are in Jerusalem.
The US surely doesn’t want to fight too many fights with Israel at once, and the Biden administration’s current priority is moving forward with a return to negotiations with Iran
Yael Mizrahi-Arnaud,
research fellow at the Forum for Regional Thinking
“It’s hard to see why that can continue to exist and the United States can’t have a consulate that existed up to a few years ago,” he told journalists.
The US has had a diplomatic presence in Jerusalem since 1844, more than a century before the establishment of Israel.
The Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel claims the whole city as its capital.
Yael Mizrahi-Arnaud, a research fellow at the Forum for Regional Thinking, an Israeli think tank, predicted a compromise would ultimately be reached.
“The US surely doesn’t want to fight too many fights with Israel at once, and the Biden administration’s current priority is moving forward with a return to negotiations with Iran,” she told The National.
Meanwhile, for Mr Bennett, national policymaking will likely prevail over the diplomatic spat.
“Since they just succeeded in passing the budget and can finally get down to the business of governing, I am doubtful if this issue would actually bring down the government,” said Ms Mizrahi-Arnaud.
“All the sides have too much at stake right now."
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
Brief scores
Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Palestine and Israel - live updates
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
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- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
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SCHEDULE
Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
15.00-17.00 Extra free practice
Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 1
15.30 BRM F1 qualifying
Saturday, December 8
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
