RAMALLAH, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Nabil Shaath, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on Tuesday affirmed that Israel has been preventing the reopening of the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem.

Several days ago, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid during a meeting in Washington that his country is continuing with special procedures to reopen the consulate for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

Lapid explained to Blinken that reopening the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem at the current time would lead to the downfall of the Israeli government, according to Israeli media reports.

"Washington is reluctant to fulfill its promises to the Palestinians because of the Israeli position that the government is fragile and may collapse at any moment if steps are taken regarding the Palestinian issue," Shaath said.

Shaath accused the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of evading its commitments with the Palestinians by intensifying settlements, confiscating land, demolishing homes, and increasing settler attacks in Palestine.

He called on the international community, including the United States, to compel Israel to implement the signed agreements in accordance with the international resolutions by ending settlement and halting the assaults on the Palestinians.

"Israel's denial of implementing the signed agreements will lead to an escalation of popular resistance against the Israeli measures and a continuation of the Palestinian diplomatic action at various levels to stop these violations," Shaath said.

The Palestinian Authority severed its diplomatic ties with the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump after he declared Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017. Enditem

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