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State Department to fold Palestinian Affairs Office functions into U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, restoration of prior structure announced
Summary
The State Department said Secretary Marco Rubio decided to merge the Palestinian Affairs Office into other sections of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, restoring a structure used during President Trump's first term; the department said the move is organizational and not intended to curtail outreach to Palestinians.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has decided to "merge the responsibilities of the office of the Palestinian affairs office fully into other sections of the United States embassy in Jerusalem," a State Department spokesperson said at a briefing, and Ambassador David Huckabee will implement the change in the coming weeks.
The spokesperson described the decision as restoring the Trump administration's earlier framework of a unified U.S. diplomatic mission in Israel's capital that reports to the U.S. ambassador to Israel. The official said the change "is not a reflection on any outreach or commitment to outreach to the people of the West Bank or to Gaza" and framed it as an internal reorganization meant to align bureaus and functions.
Reporters asked whether the move, together with a recent elimination of a security coordinator post in the West Bank, signaled reduced contact with Palestinian authorities or people; the spokesperson denied that characterization and said the intent was organizational unity rather than diminishing outreach.
Why it matters: The structure and location of U.S. diplomatic staffing for Palestinian affairs carry symbolic and practical implications for U.S. engagement with Israeli and Palestinian interlocutors. The State Department described the change as administrative and directed reporters to Ambassador Huckabee for implementation details.
