Rubio fully merges US Office of Palestinian Affairs back into Jerusalem Embassy

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has decided to fully merge the US Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA) back into the US Embassy in Jerusalem, the State Department announces.

The OPA was established in 2022 by then president Joe Biden as something of a consolation for not reopening the US Consulate in Jerusalem, which served as Washington’s de facto mission to the Palestinians.

The consulate was shuttered by the Trump administration in 2019, and its staff was merged into the US Embassy in Jerusalem where they reported directly to the US ambassador.

The Biden administration wanted to reopen the consulate two years later but needed Israeli approval that it was not able to secure. Instead, Biden sufficed with establishing the OPA, which remained within the embassy, but an independent reporting channel was established so that its diplomats could report directly to Washington.

Supporters of OPA said the Palestinian viewpoint was often marginalized by the Israeli one when reporting was filtered through the US ambassador. Opponents argued that the separate systems led to a lack of unity in US messaging back to Washington.

The merger “will restore the first Trump term framework of a unified US diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that reports to the US Ambassador to Israel [Mike] Huckabee, [who] will take the steps necessary to implement the merger over the coming weeks,” says State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce during a briefing.

“The United States remains committed to its historic relationship with Israel, bolstering Israel’s security and securing peace to create a better life for the entire region,” she says, making no mention of the US relationship with the Palestinians, which appears to be further downgraded by this move.