U.S. to Downgrade Palestinian Affairs Office in Jerusalem, Officials Say

In recent years, an office within the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had a direct line of communication with Washington. That was meant to signal that the United States saw Palestinian issues as important, and considered the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip to be separate from Israel.

Now, the new U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has decided to shut down this direct channel, according to U.S. officials who spoke condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The decision will effectively end the special . . .