The United States consulate in Jerusalem will be absorbed into the new U.S. Embassy to Israel today, the State Department said.
The decision to create a single diplomatic mission in Jerusalem was announced last October by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and had been widely expected for early March. The State Department announcement on Sunday gave the official date for the move.
The planned merger has raised Palestinians’ fears that the Trump administration is downgrading the handling of their concerns in the disputed city of Jerusalem, home to sites holy to Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the decision was driven by operational efficiency and there would be “complete continuity of U.S. diplomatic activity and consular services.”
"It does not signal a change of U.S. policy on Jerusalem, the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. The specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem are subject to final status negotiations between the parties," Reuters cited Palladino as saying.
U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 and moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv last May.
Palestinian leaders suspended diplomatic contacts with the U.S. administration after the embassy move and have since boycotted U.S. efforts to craft a long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, accusing Washington of pro-Israel bias.
The U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem is the top mission for Palestinians, who with broad international backing seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
