Posted on 04/03/2003 1:37:07 PM PST by yonif
A United States plan to move its Jerusalem consular offices from the east side of the city to the south-western Jerusalem neighbourhood of Arnona gathered steam this week with both the city's and the interior ministry's planning and construction committees unanimously approving the new planned site, the municipality said Thursday.
The decision to move the consulate from its current location in east Jerusalem to the quiet residential neighbourhood in west Jerusalem was made based on security concerns, US officials said in August, when news of the future move was first announced.
The consulate's current site, located just off the city's Route One, near Jerusalem's Damascus Gate, was deemed unsafe because of its proximity to the main street, consular officials said.
Earlier this week, the consulate in east Jerusalem was stoned by several Palestinian teens, in the first such attack on an American institution in Israel since the start of the US-led war on Iraq two weeks ago.
The main street near the consulate, which straddles east and west Jerusalem, has been the site of several terror attacks in the last year.
A shooting attack by a Palestinian gunman near the east Jerusalem consulate back in August led to a shootout with Israeli police and left three people dead.
Last April, a Palestinian suicide bomber heading toward the city centre blew himself up in his car at the main intersection nearby after being stopped by a policeman, killing the security officer on the spot.
The review of the building's security was made last year in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks on the US, and the bombing of US embassies abroad, and is not related to the political developments in Israel, American officials said.
The East Jerusalem facility provides passports, birth registrations, federal benefits and other services for US citizens. The office also serves as the visa office for Arab residents of the city, and for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The decision to move the consulate to a Jewish neighbourhood of Jerusalem has been met with criticism by Palestinian officials who said the move will make it more difficult for Arab residents to get to the new site.
A second US consulate in the city, which houses the residence of the US Consul General in central Jerusalem, will remain in its place on Rehov Agron having been deemed safe.
The planning and building committee's approval of the consulate's new Arnona site, located near the Diplomat Hotel, now gives residents 60 days to offer objections to the plan, the municipality said. Immediately thereafter, final approval is expected to be given to the project, and the construction will then begin at the site, the city said.
Consulate spokesman Chuck Hunter said Thursday that "the move was under the scrutiny of relevant [Israeli] officials." The future consulate will be accessible by a side road to prevent neighbourhood congestion, and will feature above and below-ground parking lot.
The target date for the move is roughly two years from now, until which time the east Jerusalem consulate will continue to operate as usual, Hunter said.
Israel has repeatedly urged the United States to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Several US administrations have promised to make the move, but have never done so.
In the 1990's, the US government signed a memorandum of agreement with the Foreign Ministry, whereby state-owned land near the Haas Promenade in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighbourhood was expropriated as a suitable site for a diplomatic facility.
While the consulate move seems more on the agenda today, if the embassy is ever moved to Jerusalem, both US diplomatic facilities will be located in close proximity to each other.
They are moving the consulate to the side of town that is not "disputed."
Do you endorse the demands of the Arabs that the Jews should be expelled from ALL Jerusalem, or do you think they should be cleansed from only the "Jewish Quarter" of the Old City and the Western Wall.
From which side is it being moved?
Do you endorse the demands of the Arabs that the Jews should be expelled from ALL Jerusalem, or do you think they should be cleansed from only the "Jewish Quarter" of the Old City and the Western Wall.
I don't endorse anyone's "demands" in a dispute of this nature.
/sarcasm off/
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