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Sunday, October 21st, 2018

U.S. downgrades its diplomatic mission to Palestinians

Author:     Barak Ravid
Source:     Axios
Publication Date:     20 October 2018
 Link: U.S. downgrades its diplomatic mission to Palestinians
Stephan:   The even-handed diplomacy of the Carter administration which fostered peace is long-gone. For the past 27 years America's major foreign policy has been the violent dismantlement of Islamic nations. It has cost a couple of trillion of your money and its killed, wounded, and maimed millions. And here's the latest in this trend.

The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.
Credit: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty

The Trump administration announced Thursday that it is downgrading its diplomatic mission to the Palestinian Authority after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statementthat the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which was in charge of relations with the Palestinians, will cease to exist and become the “Palestinian Affairs Unit” in the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Why it matters: This is a dramatic decision. Pompeo described the move as technical and said it was prompted by operational efficiency, but it has big political consequences and symbolism. The decision wipes out another symbol of Palestinian sovereignty that was recognized by both Republican and Democratic administrations over the last 25 years. The consulate is also considered a symbolic U.S. recognition of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman will now be in charge of relations with the Palestinians and — for the first time since 1967 — will be formally in charge of contacts with Jewish settlements in the occupied West […]

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