Palestinian factions denounce US for offering ‘consular services’ inside West Bank settlement

Several Palestinian resistance factions have unanimously condemned the decision by the United States embassy in the occupied territories to provide “consular services” inside an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank.

The reactions came on Wednesday after the embassy announced it would for the first time offer such services at the Efrat settlement in the central part of the occupied territory, a step Palestinians view as supporting the Israeli regime’s illegal settlement expansion and annexation policies.

Hamas: Move exposes contradiction in US stance

Gaza’s Hamas resistance movement said the decision represented an overt alignment with the occupation’s “Judaization and annexation plans,” and a practical recognition of the “legitimacy of settlements and Israeli control” over the West Bank.

It stressed that the decision exposed a contradiction in US claims of opposing annexation, while taking concrete steps that entrenched it.

The group warned of serious repercussions and called for firm international pressure to halt aggression against Palestinian land and rights.

Islamic Jihad slams ‘silent recognition’ of occupation

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another Gaza-headquartered resistance group, said that providing consular services inside an illegal settlement was not an administrative measure, but an explicit political and legal recognition of illegal settlements and direct participation in “silent annexation.”

The movement said attempts to portray the move as mobile or limited to US citizens aimed to normalize annexation on the ground.

It held Washington fully responsible and denounced it for using media deception to advance “Judaization and annexation plans.”

Mujahideen Movement: Blatant violation of international law

The Mujahideen Movement strongly condemned the decision, describing it as a blatant violation of the international law and an assault on Palestinian land in the cities of Bethlehem and Al-Khalil (Hebron).

According to the movement, the step fell within broader Zionist plans to displace Palestinians and expand occupation control, and was being carried out with continuous US financial, military, and diplomatic support.

It reaffirmed that Palestinian rights were inalienable and that attempts to impose “colonial realities” would fail in the face of popular steadfastness and resistance.

Embassy announcement

Earlier, in a statement posted to the embassy’s account on X, the embassy said consular officers “will be providing routine passport services” to US citizens on Friday in the illegal settlement.

The embassy added that a similar outreach service was planned in the coming months in the nearby illegal settlement of Beitar Illit, describing the services as part of its “efforts to reach all Americans.”

The US embassy has previously provided consular services in the city of Ramallah and other Palestinian cities in the West Bank.

The Israeli regime occupied the West Bank in a heavily-Western-backed war in 1967, and has been setting up hundreds of illegal settlements throughout the territory ever since, while imposing draconian restrictions on Palestinians’ freedoms there.

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