Overview

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the closure of the Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA) and its merger into the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
• The decision eliminates the Biden-era independent office created in 2022 and restores the Trump administration’s unified embassy framework.
• Ambassador Mike Huckabee will oversee the integration process in the coming weeks, consolidating Palestinian outreach under the embassy’s purview.
• The State Department emphasized that the restructuring is not a reduction in U.S. outreach to Palestinians but part of broader diplomatic reorganization efforts.
• The move has drawn criticism for potentially sidelining Palestinian engagement with the U.S. government and diminishing their direct diplomatic access to Washington.