WEST BANK, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Hamas Movement on Wednesday condemned a reported US decision to provide consular services in the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion bloc in the West Bank, calling the move a “dangerous precedent” and a de facto recognition of Israeli settlement sovereignty.
In a statement, the Movement said offering official US services within a settlement built on occupied Palestinian land reflects “blatant alignment” with Israeli annexation policies and contradicts Washington’s stated opposition to the formal annexation of the West Bank.
Hamas argued that providing American consular services in settlements constitutes a public violation of international law, which considers settlements illegal, and amounts to an attempt to impose new political realities on the ground that undermine Palestinian national rights.
The reaction followed reports by US officials indicating that the American administration will begin offering direct consular services inside Israeli settlements, starting this week with passport services for US citizens residing there.
Israeli Channel 14 reported that the US Consulate in Jerusalem had opened a branch in a West Bank settlement for the first time since 1967.
Hamas warned that the move could encourage further expansion of Israeli control over the West Bank and called for international pressure to halt what it described as escalating annexation policies.
