US closes its Jerusalem consulate, downgrading Palestinian mission

The US has officially shut down its consulate in Jerusalem. The announcement from the State Department came early Monday in Jerusalem, the merger effective that day

A picture taken on October 18, 2018 shows the US Consulate in Jerusalem. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced today that the US office in Jerusalem dealing with Palestinians is being merged into the controversial new US embassy in the city. (Photo by THOMAS COEX / AFP)

New Delhi: The US has officially shut down its consulate in Jerusalem, in a major move downing the status of its main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians by folding it into the US Embassy to Israel. The announcement from the State Department came early Monday in Jerusalem, the merger effective that day. When first announced by US Secretary Mike Pompeo in October, the move infuriated Palestinians, fuelling their suspicions that the US was recognising Israeli control over east Jerusalem and the West Bank, territories that Palestinians seek for a future state. The move is just the latest in a string of divisive decisions by the Trump administration that have backed Israel and alienated the Palestinians, who say they have lost faith in the US administration's role as a neutral arbiter in peace process. The consulate has functioned as a de-facto embassy to the Palestinians.  Now, that outreach will be handled by a Palestinian affairs unit, under the command of the embassy. The authority over the US diplomatic channels with the West bank and Gaza will now rest with ambassador David Friedman. Friedman has been a longtime supporter and fundraiser for the West Bank settler movement and fierce critic of the Palestinian leadership. "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." Palestinian official Saeb Erekat called the move "the final nail in the coffin" for the US role in peacemaking. Last year, the US recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocated its embassy there, upending US policy toward one of the most explosive issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians in turn cut off most ties with the administration. The administration also has slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, including assistance to hospitals and peace-building programmes, it also slashed funding to the UN agency that provides aid to Palestinians classified as refugees. Last fall, it shut down the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington. The Trump administration has cited the reluctance of Palestinian leaders to enter peace negotiations with Israel as the reason for such punitive measures, although the US has yet to present its much-anticipated but still mysterious "Deal of the Century" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, announced last month that the US would unveil the deal after Israeli elections in April. The Palestinian Authority has preemptively rejected the plan, accusing the US of bias toward Israel. (With AP inputs)