Erekat: Merging consulate with embassy “last nail in the coffin” of US role in peace

Secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat,  on Sunday said that merging the US consulate in Jerusalem with the Israeli embassy was the last nail in the coffin of the US administration’s role in peacemaking.

In a tweet, Erekat said that that the US consulate has worked for 175 years in Jerusalem, Palestine, adding that its closure by the US administration was an expression of a fanatical ideology that rejects Palestinian people’s the right to self-determination.

A US official said today that the United States’ decision to reduce its representation to the Palestinians would come into effect on Monday.

The American official explained that this will be done by merging the US consulate in Jerusalem with the embassy in Israel. According to Israeli TV (i24news).

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said when the merge decision was announced in October, the goal was to improve “effectiveness,” noting that this was not a policy change.