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Saturday, Oct 31, 2026
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US Closes Office of Palestinian Affairs, Merging Responsibilities into Embassy
The closure eliminates the dedicated diplomatic channel between the US and the Palestinians amid escalating violence in Gaza.
The United States has officially closed its Office of Palestinian Affairs located in Jerusalem, effectively ending a dedicated diplomatic channel for the Palestinians to engage with Washington.
An internal memo from the State Department confirmed that the closure was effective as of Friday, May 16, 2025. This decision follows the announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the month regarding the office's merger into the US embassy in Jerusalem.
The memo specified, "Please be advised that the OFFICE OF PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS JERUSALEM, USOFFICE, will be closing at the end of the day on Friday, May 16, 2025." This move aligns with a broader context of shifting diplomatic relationships as Israel intensifies its military operations in Gaza, which have reportedly resulted in hundreds of Palestinian casualties over recent days.
Reports indicate that on Friday alone, over 100 Palestinians were reported killed, with Gaza's health ministry announcing 136 fatalities from Israeli strikes within the previous 24 hours.
This escalation has driven the total death toll since the onset of hostilities to 53,486.
The office had been established in 2022 and served as a key engagement mechanism for Washington with the occupied West Bank and Gaza, employing approximately two dozen American personnel along with 75 local staff.
Following the closure, Palestinian affairs will now fall under the responsibility of the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who has previously expressed dismissive views on Palestinian identity.
Tammy Bruce, a spokesperson for the State Department, stated earlier that this decision would restore the framework from the Trump administration of a unified US diplomatic mission in Israel reporting directly to the ambassador.
However, she stated that this was "not a reflection on any outreach or commitment to outreach to the people at the West Bank or to Gaza."
The dissolution of the Office of Palestinian Affairs comes amidst confirmed negotiations between Hamas officials and the US administration concerning a ceasefire in Gaza and the coordination of humanitarian aid, which included efforts that led to the recent release of Edan Alexander, a dual Israeli-American soldier captured during Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, predominantly civilians.
This closure marks a significant moment in the systematic downgrading of US-Palestinian relations, a trend that began during President Trump's first term when he closed the Jerusalem consulate that had allowed direct Palestinian access to US officials.
Even under the Biden administration, the Palestinian office was effectively sidelined amidst ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Mike Casey, a former deputy political counselor at the State Department, remarked on this shift by stating, "We don’t have a policy on Palestine.
We just do what the Israelis want us to do."
An internal memo from the State Department confirmed that the closure was effective as of Friday, May 16, 2025. This decision follows the announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the month regarding the office's merger into the US embassy in Jerusalem.
The memo specified, "Please be advised that the OFFICE OF PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS JERUSALEM, USOFFICE, will be closing at the end of the day on Friday, May 16, 2025." This move aligns with a broader context of shifting diplomatic relationships as Israel intensifies its military operations in Gaza, which have reportedly resulted in hundreds of Palestinian casualties over recent days.
Reports indicate that on Friday alone, over 100 Palestinians were reported killed, with Gaza's health ministry announcing 136 fatalities from Israeli strikes within the previous 24 hours.
This escalation has driven the total death toll since the onset of hostilities to 53,486.
The office had been established in 2022 and served as a key engagement mechanism for Washington with the occupied West Bank and Gaza, employing approximately two dozen American personnel along with 75 local staff.
Following the closure, Palestinian affairs will now fall under the responsibility of the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who has previously expressed dismissive views on Palestinian identity.
Tammy Bruce, a spokesperson for the State Department, stated earlier that this decision would restore the framework from the Trump administration of a unified US diplomatic mission in Israel reporting directly to the ambassador.
However, she stated that this was "not a reflection on any outreach or commitment to outreach to the people at the West Bank or to Gaza."
The dissolution of the Office of Palestinian Affairs comes amidst confirmed negotiations between Hamas officials and the US administration concerning a ceasefire in Gaza and the coordination of humanitarian aid, which included efforts that led to the recent release of Edan Alexander, a dual Israeli-American soldier captured during Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, predominantly civilians.
This closure marks a significant moment in the systematic downgrading of US-Palestinian relations, a trend that began during President Trump's first term when he closed the Jerusalem consulate that had allowed direct Palestinian access to US officials.
Even under the Biden administration, the Palestinian office was effectively sidelined amidst ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Mike Casey, a former deputy political counselor at the State Department, remarked on this shift by stating, "We don’t have a policy on Palestine.
We just do what the Israelis want us to do."