The decision of the Donald Trump administration to close the US Consulate in Jerusalem that served the Palestinian population and merge it with the US Embassy has prompted strong reactions from former US diplomats. The Americans, many of whom served in the mission, made strong public statements critical of the move. Some anticipated its reversal if a Democratic candidate wins the next US presidential elections.

Daniel Shapiro, US ambassador to Israel from 2011-2017, took to Twitter, writing a series of posts outlying why the Trump administration’s decision was wrong. “The closure of the US consulate in Jerusalem & its merger with the US embassy to Israel is a big mistake. It undercuts what should be our strategic objective (...) by depriving us of a diplomatic structure that points toward that goal.”

Shapiro, who also sat on the US National Security Council during the Barack Obama administration, revealed that Israel had not asked for such a thing before. “Israel didn't care for the mission, but literally never raised it (at least in my years in gov't) as something they wanted to see changed. They wanted us talking to the Palestinians,” he added.

Lara Friedman, director of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, was a diplomat at the consulate from 1992 to 1994. She told Al-Monitor that the move, coupled with the closure of the Palestinian mission in Washington, signified the United States' “formal de-recognition” of the Palestinians as a people.