The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem says it will provide on-site passport and consular services to settlers based in the West Bank on Friday 27 February. The move marks the first time American consular officials have offered such services to settlers, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
The services will be in the settlement of Efrat, south of Bethlehem, where many American-Israeli immigrants live, according to officials in a post on X. Similar services are planned for Ramallah, and cities outside of the West Bank, including Haifa.
Last week, Israel’s cabinet approved steps to expand its control over the West Bank making it easier for settlers to seize land, a move Palestinians described as a “de facto annexation.”
While U.S. President Donald Trump opposes formal annexation despite being a staunch supporter of Israel, his administration has taken no steps to curb settlement expansion, which rights groups say has increased since he took office.
Most of the West Bank remains under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in areas overseen by the Palestinian Authority.
Israel disputes claims that the settlements are illegal under international law. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, which draws significant support from settlement communities, includes members advocating for the annexation of land captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, which is also home to three million Palestinians.
Palestinians have long sought the West Bank for a future independent state, alongside Gaza and East Jerusalem.
The United Nations designates the West Bank as occupied because it was captured by Israeli forces during a six-day war in 1967 and it remains under its authority. The West Bank is also subject to the fourth Geneva Convention which governs the treatment of civilians in occupied terriroties.
The UN Security Council states that the establishment of Israeli settlers in the West Bank is a "flagrant violation of international law" and has no legal validity.
Israel strongly disputes these claims.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Israel on Wednesday (25 February) for a two-day visit during which he will meet with his Israeli counte...
A Su-30SM fighter jet crashed during a scheduled training flight in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region on 25 February, with both pilots ejecting safely, ...
South Korea and the United States will conduct joint military drills, known as Freedom Shield, from 9 to 19 March, military officials from both countr...
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has taken responsibility for his past ties to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a town hall meeting ...
A group of sick and injured Palestinians and their caregivers left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday (25 February) for medical treat...
A group of sick and injured Palestinians and their caregivers left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday (25 February) for medical treatment abroad, as limited evacuations continue under tight restrictions.
Hindu devotees in the northern town of Barsana in Uttar Pradesh celebrated ‘Laddoo Holi’ on Tuesday (24 February), a traditional pre-Holi ritual honouring the Hindu deity Krishna.
UK police have concluded searches at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former residence in Windsor Great Park as part of an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office.
U.S. President Donald Trump declared a “golden age” for America in his first second-term State of the Union on Tuesday evening, delivering the longest-ever address at more than 90 minutes. Here are the main takeaways.
The Taliban in Kabul has rejected Russian claims that more than 23,000 militants from around 20 international terror groups are currently operating within Afghanistan.
Seven people were killed after gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Kohat, a district in Pakistan’s north-west near the Afghan border, on Tuesday, in an attack that comes amid rising militant violence and heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the war is no longer defined by shock but by scale.
Four members of Syria’s Internal Security Forces were killed and two others injured on Monday (23 February) in an attack by the ISIS (Daesh) terrorist group targeting a checkpoint west of Raqqa in northeastern Syria, the Interior Ministry said.
Four years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war can be measured not only in lives and territory, but in money. In Part One, the war’s cost was measured in casualties and kilometres. In Part Two, it is measured in billions of dollars.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Israel on Wednesday (25 February) for a two-day visit during which he will meet with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and address the Knesset.
A Su-30SM fighter jet crashed during a scheduled training flight in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region on 25 February, with both pilots ejecting safely, the defence ministry said.
A group of sick and injured Palestinians and their caregivers left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday (25 February) for medical treatment abroad, as limited evacuations continue under tight restrictions.
The Taliban's Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has accused Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilians in recent airstrikes on Afghanistan, telling a senior United Nations official the attacks did not hit armed groups, as the UN confirmed more than a dozen members of one family were killed.
Iran and Armenia have agreed to promote closer defence relations during a visit to Tehran by Armenia’s Defence Minister, Suren Papikyan, where he held talks with senior Iranian officials.
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