Palestine Condemns US Plan to Open Consular Services in West Bank Settlements

JAKARTA - The Palestinian Authority's Commission on Colonization and Wall Resistance condemned the United States' plan to open consular services in the West Bank settlement areas, occupied Palestine.

The Palestinian Authority said in a statement that this "is a clear violation of international law and a blatant support for the occupation authorities," referring to Israel, as reported by Al Arabiya from AFP (26/2).

Minister Muayyad Shubban, head of the commission, called on the United States to reverse the decision, and on the international community to refrain from legitimizing the settlement system.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian militant group Hamas also condemned the US decision, describing it in a statement as a "dangerous step that supports the plan of Judaization (Israel)."

As previously reported, the United States Embassy in West Jerusalem plans to offer consular services in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank for the first time, providing routine passport assistance on Friday to American citizens in Efrat.

Efrat is a West Bank settlement of about 12,000 Israeli residents and is located 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of Jerusalem.

The embassy said similar services were planned in the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit in the coming months, calling the service part of "an effort to reach all American citizens," as reported by Daily Sabah from The Associated Press.

The US Embassy had previously provided consular services in Ramallah and other Palestinian cities in the West Bank.

More than 3.4 million Palestinians and 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory Israel captured in 1967 and Palestinians want for their future state.

The international community generally considers Israeli settlement building in the territory illegal and an obstacle to peace.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the United Nations (UN), ruled that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.