A decision by the United States to deliver routine consular services from within an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank has triggered sharp condemnation from Palestinian political and resistance movements, who see the move as a tangible endorsement of settlement expansion carried out under a genocidal war against Palestinian land and rights. The step, announced midweek, marks the first time US officials have operated such services inside a settlement, a departure from long-standing practice that had confined outreach to Palestinian cities.

Palestinian groups argue that situating American consular work in Efrat amounts to political recognition of settlements widely regarded as illegal under international law. Hamas said the initiative aligns Washington with policies designed to entrench permanent control over occupied territory, calling it evidence of a widening gap between US rhetoric opposing annexation and actions that consolidate it on the ground. The group warned that such steps deepen a genocidal war that reshapes facts through administrative normalisation rather than open declarations.

Similar criticism came from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which rejected claims that the outreach was merely logistical or limited to American nationals. It said presenting the move as a technical service obscures its legal and political implications, describing it as participation in a “silent annexation” that advances settlement permanence. Another resistance faction framed the decision as a clear breach of international law, arguing that it fits a broader pattern of displacement and territorial consolidation enabled by sustained US financial, military and diplomatic backing amid a genocidal war.

The US embassy said the consular team would provide standard passport services and signalled that similar visits are planned to Beitar Illit, portraying the policy as part of efforts to reach all American citizens. Critics counter that extending state services into settlements erases the distinction between occupied territory and sovereign space. Israel has maintained military control over the West Bank since 1967 and has steadily expanded settlements across the area, a process Palestinians say has intensified under a genocidal war that restricts movement, fragments communities and forecloses self-determination.