Move comes after former president Donald Trump controversially closed consulate and redesignated it in 2018
The US diplomatic mission to the Palestinians in Jerusalem has been redesignated and will report directly to Washington “on substantive matters”, signalling an upgrade in ties prior to a planned visit by the president, Joe Biden.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, outraged Palestinians – and delighted many Israelis – by formally closing the consulate and redesignating it as the PAU within the US embassy that was moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in 2018. “The name change was done to better align with State Department nomenclature,” the spokesperson said. “The new OPA operating structure is designed to strengthen our diplomatic reporting and public diplomacy engagement.“
Under the Trump-era redesignation, the former consulate’s staff and functions remained largely identical, but they were subordinate to the embassy rather than on a strict US-Palestinian bilateral track.
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