Secretary of State Marco Rubio is moving to dismantle the Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA) within the State Department, according to a report by the Washington Free Beacon.
The OPA, which was launched under the Biden Administration to enhance diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority, will now be folded back into the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. As part of the transition, Rubio has directed U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to absorb OPA’s responsibilities into the embassy’s existing framework.
Rubio, who strongly opposed the formation of OPA during his time in the Senate, had voiced concern back in 2022 that the new structure would effectively create a U.S. consulate for the Palestinians in Jerusalem, contradicting America’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital.
“Let there be no misunderstanding: this unprecedented arrangement—to turn the Palestinian Affairs Unit into a ‘U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs’ that will no longer report to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel but instead report directly to the State Department in Washington, D.C., and to appoint a Special Envoy to the Palestinians—is an effort to open an unofficial and de facto U.S. consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem,” Rubio wrote at the time.
Since its inception, the OPA has faced ongoing accusations of harboring an anti-Israel agenda, prompting criticism from multiple corners of the political spectrum.
In addition to shuttering the office, Rubio also intends to eliminate the position of Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs—a post that was created for Hady Amr when the OPA was first established.
{Matzav.com}