By Rami Ayyub
JERUSALEM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. will provide on-site passport services this week in a settlement in the West Bank, marking the first time American consular officials have offered such services to settlers in the occupied territory, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
Most of the world considers Israel's West Bank settlements illegal under international law relating to military occupations. Israel disputes that the settlements are illegal, and many on the Israeli right advocate annexing
the West Bank.
Palestinians have long sought the West Bank for a future independent state, alongside Gaza and East Jerusalem.
This month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing cabinet approved measures making it easier for settlers to seize Palestinian land.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN-ISRAELIS IN WEST BANK
U.S. President Donald Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has said he opposes Israeli annexation of the West Bank. But his administration has not taken any measures to halt settlement activity, which rights groups say has risen since he took office last year.
In a post on X, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said that as part of efforts to reach all Americans abroad, "consular officers will be providing routine passport services in Efrat on Friday, February 27," referring to a settlement south of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.
The Embassy said it would plan similar on-site services in the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah, in the settlement of Beitar Illit near Bethlehem, and in cities within Israel such as Haifa.
The U.S. offers passport and consular services at its Embassy in Jerusalem as well as at a Tel Aviv branch office. The number of dual American-Israeli nationals living in the West Bank is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.
Asked for comment, an embassy spokesperson said: "This is the first time we have provided consular services to a settlement in the West Bank." The spokesperson said similar services were being offered to American-Palestinian dual nationals in the West Bank.
'DE FACTO ANNEXATION'
Last week, Israel's cabinet approved measures to tighten the country's control over the West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, a move Palestinians called a "de facto annexation".
Much of the West Bank is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu's ruling coalition, which has a large voter base in the settlements, includes many members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.
Efrat, the Jewish settlement where American consular officials will provide passport services on Friday, is home to many American immigrants. The U.S. Embassy said it did not have data on the number of Americans living there.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, home to 3 million Palestinians. Most settlements are small towns surrounded by fences and guarded by Israeli soldiers.
(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Alex Richardson)
