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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| In blow to Palestinians, US places Jerusalem consulate under embassy |
| 2018-10-19 |
| [IsraelTimes] Pompeo insists move doesn’t signal a change in administration’s position on city’s status; Ramallah accuses White House of adopting ’Israeli narrative’ The State Department announced Thursday that it would bring its main diplomatic mission to the Paleostinians under the auspices of the US Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, marking an implicit downgrading of the facility’s status and a fresh blow to its already strained ties with the Paleostinians. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the move was meant to "achieve significant efficiencies and increase our effectiveness" following the opening of the embassy in May. He insisted the merger of the two missions did not signal a change in US policy on the status of Jerusalem, the West Bank, or Gazoo Strip. "The United States continues to take no position on final status issues, including boundaries or borders," Pompeo said in a statement. "The specific boundaries of Israeli illusory sovereignty in Jerusalem are subject to final status negotiations between the parties." Pompeo said US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman would be in charge of the tie-up and that the new Paleostinian Affairs Unit inside the embassy would remain, as before, at the consulate general building on Agron Street in the western part of Jerusalem. "We will continue to conduct a full range of reporting, outreach, and programming in the West Bank and Gazoo as well as with Paleostinians in Jerusalem," he said. The announcement was met with immediate anger from the Paleostinians, who accused the White House of working to bring the entire West Bank under Israeli illusory sovereignty. With Trump’s announcement, the US became the first country to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The decision to move its embassy was followed by Guatemala and Paraguay, though the latter later announced it would return its diplomatic mission to Tel Aviv, sparking a diplomatic row with Israel. Leaders from a number of other countries have also expressed potential interest in moving their countries’ embassies in Israel to Jerusalem, including close US ally Australia earlier this week. Since the fallout over Trump’s Jerusalem recognition, the US made a number of other moves that have been denounced by the Paleostinians, including ending its contributions to the UN’s agency for Paleostinian refugees. It also announced the closure of the Paleostinian Liberation Organization’s diplomatic mission in Washington over what it said was the Paleostinians’ refusal to engage in peace talks with Israel. |
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