State Department to merge Palestinian Affairs Office with US Embassy in Jerusalem

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is planning to merge the responsibilities of the Palestinian Affairs Office into the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in an effort to continue a diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that was put in place by President Donald Trump during his first term in office.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced Rubio’s decision during a press briefing Tuesday.

“Secretary 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,” Bruce said. “This decision will restore the first Trump-term framework of a unified U.S. diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that reports to the U.S. ambassador to Israel.”

She added that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will begin to make the necessary changes to implement the merger over the coming weeks.

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State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to merge the responsibilities of the Palestinian Affairs Office with the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. (State Department)

“The United States remains committed to its historic relationship with Israel, bolstering Israel’s security and securing peace to create a better life for the entire region,” Bruce said.

The Biden administration established the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs in 2022 after reversing Trump’s closure of the consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem during his first administration.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is planning to merge the responsibilities of the Office of Palestinian Affairs with the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)

Biden’s move was viewed by some as rewarding the Palestinian leadership after a wave of terrorism during which two Palestinians wielding an ax and knife murdered three Israelis in the town of Elad in May 2022.

The first Trump administration helped to negotiate groundbreaking agreements, called the Abraham Accords, in 2020 to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

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A road sign indicates the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. (Hillel Maeir/TPS)

The Israeli government vehemently opposed a reopening of the Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem because it would undercut the holy city as the undivided capital of Israel.

The U.S. Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and calls for it to remain an undivided city. 

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Trump, in 2017, recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem the following year.

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.