Palestinian groups in east Jerusalem have announced a boycott of the US Consulate in the city in protest at the American veto of a UN Security Council resolution calling Israeli settlements “illegal”. Senior Fatah official Hatem Abdel Kader told the news agency AFP that the boycott would see the 28 Arab local councils in Jerusalem cutting ties with the Consulate, which is located in the city's eastern sector. "We will cut our relationship with all American institutions, including with USAID, and we will not take any help or money from them," Abdel Kader said, referring to the US Agency for International Development which funds small projects in eastern Jerusalem.
The boycott would include political meetings and contact with US officials, he said, and “continue until the US administration changes its stance on the Palestinian issue, especially toward the settlements." Abdel Kader called on the Obama administration "to apologize" to the Palestinian people and to Abbas for using the veto.
The move could affect a range of joint cultural and academic activities that are organized by America House, a center which offers programs and workshops for young people. Those involved in the boycott are local Palestinian institutions which not officially affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, which is barred by Israel from holding any political activity in east Jerusalem.
