PA slams US offer of consular services in West Bank

TEL AVIV: The Palestinian Authority slammed a decision by the US Embassy to offer consular services in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank as a 'violation of international law'. The US mission said that as part of an initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence, it would provide Americans with 'routine passport services in Efrat on Friday, February 27... for one day only'.
The Palestinian Authority's Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission condemned the move, saying in a statement that it 'constitutes a clear violation of international law and a blatant favouring of the occupation authorities', referencing Israel. Minister Muayyad Shubban, head of the commission, called on the US to reverse the decision, and on the international community to refrain from legitimising the settlement system.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas also decried the US decision, describing it in a statement as 'a dangerous step that supports (Israel's) Judaisation plans'.
The US Embassy in Jerusalem also announced that such pop-up consular services will be provided in the next couple of months in another Israeli settlement, Beitar Illit, as well as in the Palestinian city of Ramallah and three cities inside Israel. — AFP