US to offer passport services in West Bank settlement, breaking with past practice

The United States is preparing to provide in-person passport services inside an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank for the first time, a step that places a routine consular function in the middle of one of the most contested pieces of territory in international politics.

The US Embassy in Jerusalem said the service would begin on February 27 in Efrat, a settlement located between the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem and Hebron. An embassy spokesperson told Reuters that it would be the first time Washington has “provided consular services to a settlement in the West Bank”.

The plan goes beyond a single visit. The embassy said it intends to organise similar on-site services in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, the settlement of Beitar Illit near Bethlehem and in Israeli cities such as Haifa. At present, passport and other consular services are handled at the embassy in West Jerusalem and at a branch office in Tel Aviv.

On paper, the move is administrative. In practice, it intersects with the legal and political status of Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law and are built on land that Palestinians seek for a future state. The International Court of Justice has said that about 465,000 Israeli settlers live across roughly 300 settlements and outposts in the occupied territory.

Efrat itself has a significant population of US citizens who hold dual nationality, which helps explain the logistical argument for bringing services closer to residents. But the decision also lands at a moment when settlement expansion is moving higher on Israel’s domestic agenda. This month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government approved measures to extend control over large areas of the West Bank and designate more Palestinian land as Israeli “state property”, a step condemned by more than 80 UN member states.

The broader landscape is one in which Israeli military authority already covers most of the territory, while limited Palestinian self-rule operates in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority. Alongside formal policy changes, there has been a steady rise in raids, arrests and demolitions by Israeli forces, as well as an increase in attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian communities, often under military protection.

According to the United Nations, at least 694 Palestinians were displaced from their homes in the West Bank in January alone as a result of settler violence and harassment — the highest monthly figure since the war in Gaza began in October 2023.

The Trump administration has consistently positioned itself as strongly supportive of Israel, while also saying it opposes formal annexation of the West Bank. It has not taken steps to slow settlement expansion, and the introduction of consular services in Efrat adds a new, practical layer to that policy stance without formally changing the legal position.