Ammon News - 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.

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.

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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.

Reuters