WASHINGTON—‘’I am pleased to announce that following the May 14 opening of the U.S. Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, we plan to achieve significant efficiencies and increase our effectiveness by merging U.S. Embassy Jerusalem and U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem into a single diplomatic mission,’’ U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday in a statement.
He said he has asked U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, to guide the merger.
‘’We will continue to conduct a full range of reporting, outreach, and programming in the West Bank and Gaza as well as with Palestinians in Jerusalem through a new Palestinian Affairs Unit inside U.S. Embassy Jerusalem. That unit will operate from our Agron Road site in Jerusalem,’’ Pompeo said.
He cited the U.S. ”global efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations’’ as the main reason for this decision.
‘’It does not signal a change of U.S. policy on Jerusalem, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip,’’ he stressed. ‘’As the President proclaimed in December of last year, the United States continues to take no position on final status issues, including boundaries or borders. The specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem are subject to final status negotiations between the parties,’’ Pompeo added.
The State Department decision breaks with over two decades of protocol offering the Palestinians a direct line to Washington through a consulate staff that deal directly with the Palestinian Authority and the US Administration.
Many countries have an embassy that talks with the Israelis and a consulate that deals directly with the Palestinians.