DaysofPal — The Hamas Movement denounced on Wednesday a reported US move to provide consular services inside the Israeli settlement of Efrat, calling it a dangerous precedent that effectively legitimizes Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, Hamas said the step, reported to take place within the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, constitutes “blatant alignment with Judaization plans” and amounts to practical recognition of Israeli sovereignty over occupied Palestinian land.
The group argued that the decision exposes the contradiction in U.S. policy. While United States officials publicly oppose the formal annexation of the West Bank, Hamas said, actions on the ground appear to reinforce Israeli control and settlement expansion.
Hamas further asserted that offering official American services inside settlements violates international law, which widely regards Israeli settlements in occupied territory as illegal. The move, it said, attempts to impose new political realities that could undermine Palestinian national rights.
The group also warned of potential repercussions, particularly amid the encouraging signals from Washington for the Israeli occupation to expand its control. Hamas called for international pressure to halt the ongoing aggression against Palestinians and their land.
U.S. officials, according to reports, are implementing a new policy to deliver direct consular services within Israeli settlements in the occupied territory.
Sources said the initiative, unprecedented in U.S. diplomatic practice, will begin this week with passport services for American citizens living in those areas.
Israeli media outlet Channel 14 reported that the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem has opened a branch inside a West Bank settlement for the first time since 1967.
Washington has not publicly detailed the full scope of the initiative, and it remains unclear whether additional services will follow.
The development comes amid heightened tensions over settlement expansion and the future status of the West Bank, a central issue in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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