US officially downgrades Palestinian diplomatic mission as Jerusalem consulate closes

The United States has officially shuttered its consulate in Jerusalem, downgrading the status of its main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians by folding it into the US Embassy to Israel.

The consulate had served as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians since the Oslo accords of the 1990s. Now, that outreach will be handled by a Palestinian affairs unit, under the command of the embassy.

The symbolic shift hands authority over US diplomatic channels with the occupied West Bank and Gaza to ambassador David Friedman, a long-time supporter and fundraiser for the West Bank settler movement and fierce critic of the Palestinian leadership.

The announcement from the State Department came early Monday in Jerusalem, the merger effective that day.

"This decision was driven by our global efforts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our diplomatic engagements and operations," State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement. "It does not signal a change of US policy on Jerusalem, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip."

But Palestinian leaders see it as another move against them by US President Donald Trump's administration, which they froze contact with after his 2017 decision recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"The Trump administration is intent on leaving no room for doubt about its hostility towards the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights as well as its abject disregard for international law and its obligations under the law," senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement.

East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, is recognised as occupied Palestinian territory under international law.

Israel captured the eastern sector of the city from Jordan in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

Agencies contributed to this report.