US cuts separate reporting channel for its diplomats covering Palestinians
US Office of Palestinian Affairs will be merged fully back into US Embassy in Jerusalem, effectively downgrading ties with Palestinians after brief boost during Biden administration
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided to fully merge the US Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA) back into the US Embassy in Jerusalem, the State Department announced on Tuesday.
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 for decades.
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, which it was unable to secure.
Instead, Biden sufficed with establishing the OPA, which remained within the embassy, but an independent reporting channel was re-established so that its diplomats could send cables directly to Washington.
Supporters of OPA said the Palestinian viewpoint was often marginalized by the Israeli one when cables 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,” said 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,” Bruce said, making no mention of the US relationship with the Palestinians, which appeared to be further downgraded by the merger.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has had a very minimal relationship with the Palestinian Authority thus far. Trump held a phone call with PA President Mahmoud Abbas shortly after he was elected in November, but the two have spoken since. Rubio visited the region in February, but did not make a stop in the West Bank.
The New York Times reported that Huckabee has recently told staff at the embassy that he wants to meet with senior PA officials in Ramallah. It is unclear whether Palestinian officials will agree to meet the new US ambassador, who is a major proponent of Israel’s settlement movement. When the US closed its consulate in Jerusalem during Trump’s first term, PA officials refused to meet with diplomats from the then-recently-downgraded Palestinian Affairs Bureau.
Last week, The Times of Israel reported that the State Department is planning to eliminate the office of the US Security Coordinator (USSC) in Jerusalem, which helps bolster security coordination between Israel and the PA.
The cut is part of a broader reorganization of the State Department that Rubio is advancing, which will see the shuttering of dozens of offices around the globe, the sources said.
A congressional aide speaking to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity warned that the move could have destabilizing implications for the West Bank, as the USSC post has played a critical role in bolstering the PA security forces.
The Trump administration did welcome Abbas’s February decision to reform the PA’s controversial welfare system that includes payments to the families of terrorists and slain attackers. However, Washington has sharpened its rhetoric as the reform has taken time to implement. Last month, though, the PA invited US officials to come to Ramallah to certify that the new welfare system is in place so that the Authority can come into compliance with congressional legislation that bars US aid that directly benefits the PA over its so-called pay-to-slay scheme.
In Trump’s first term, the US closed the Palestinians’ diplomatic mission in Washington and cut aid to the Palestinians. Abbas severed contact with Washington after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Times of Israel Community.