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TEL AVIV-The Trump administration said it would merge its Jerusalem consulate responsible for relations with the Palestinians into its newly relocated U.S. Embassy there, another symbolic blow to American-Palestinian relations.
The consulate in Jerusalem has functioned essentially as an embassy to the Palestinians. It was separate from the operations of the US Embassy, which steered relations with the Israelis from Tel Aviv until May, when President Trump moved to Jerusalem to fulfill a promise.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said the consulate was designed to be a policy change. He said a newly created Palestinian affairs unit will operate out of the old consulate building, conducting reporting, outreach and programming with Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem.
Michael Oren, Israel's deputy minister for diplomacy and an Israeli ambassador to the United States, welcomed the move on Twitter, calling it a great day for Israel, Jerusalem and the U.S.
Ivanka Trump, right, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin attend the opening ceremony of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in May.
Photo:
Yonatan Sindel / Associated Press
Senior Palestinian officials called it another blow to their aspirations for an independent state.
"The Trump administration is making clear that it is working with the Israeli government to impose greater Israel rather than the two-state solution on the 1967 borders," Saeb Erekat said, the Palestine Liberation Organization's secretary-general. "The U.S. administration has fully endorsed the Israeli narrative, including on Jerusalem, refugees and settlements."
Mr. Trump said he would move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
More recently, the Trump administration has also ceased funding the United States of America's Palestinian refugee agency, closed the office in Washington, and suspended bilateral assistance to the Palestinians.
Mr. Trump said recently that his administration would unveil its plan for peace between Israelis and the Palestinians in the coming months. U.S. officials have said that it will not be possible to do so, and that it will contain a political component and that the Israelis and Palestinians will have to make compromises. Mr. Trump said in September for the first time that he preferred a plan with two states.
Control of Jerusalem is among the most sensitive issues facing peace talks. Mr. Oren said closing the Palestinian-consulate "ends the last vestige of American support for" divided city with an Israeli capital in West Jerusalem and a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.
Mr. Pompeo said the U.S. takes no position on final status issues, including boundaries and borders in Jerusalem. He said these matters will be resolved between Israelis and Palestinians.
Aaron David Miller, a Middle East peace negotiator who has advised Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State, said the Trump administration has taken.
"Merging the Jerusalem Consulate General with Embassy Jerusalem is not a harmless bureaucratic move for the sake of efficiency," said Mr. Miller, who is now at the Wilson Center, a Washington think tank. "It's another step in changing U.S. policy; downgrading the Palestinians and sending the message: 'You lost; get over it. '"
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman will guide the merger, Mr. Pompeo said. The current consul general, Karen Sasahara, who will be reassigned, U.S. officials said.
-Jess Bravin in Washington
contributed to this article.
Write to Felicia Schwartz at [email protected]
