US Ambassador to Israel’s Twitter Changed to “US Ambassador to Israel, West Bank and Gaza”
Yerussalem, MINA – The official Twitter account of the US Ambassador to Israel changed to “US Ambassador to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza” after the inauguration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
However, the account was quickly changed back to “US Ambassador to Israel”, MEMO reported.
Asked whether this brief change suggested that a shift in American foreign policy can be expected under Biden, an embassy spokeswoman said: “This is not a policy change or indication of future policy change. It was an inadvertent edit, and not reflective of a policy change.”
On his first day in office, Biden reversed a number of Trump-era policies, including a controversial “Muslim ban”. However, there are indications that he will not overturn the most controversial changes made by his predecessor, such as the relocation of the US Embassy to occupied Jerusalem.
Biden may claim be more even-handed than Trump. There is talk that the new president will reopen the US Consulate General in occupied East Jerusalem to act as an “embassy” to the Palestinians, to whom he will also restore US aid.
The relations between Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Biden are predicted to be tense given their history. Biden was humiliated during a trip to Jerusalem in 2010 when he was Vice President under Barack Obama.
A pro-Israel supporter, Biden arrived in Jerusalem with instructions from Obama to revive peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel. Netanyahu reluctantly agreed to a temporary moratorium on expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
However, when Biden promised to provide the unyielding US support for Israel, Netanyahu launched a major expansion of settler housing on Palestinian land in occupied Arab East Jerusalem that was annexed by Israel.
In what could be a message to current President Biden, the Israeli government approved the construction of 2,572 new settlement units in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank in conjunction with his inauguration on Wednesday. (T/R7/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
