The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018 15 With our collective interests in peace and unwavering respect for human rights inmind, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a diplomatic facility must concern us all greatly. Failure of any one nation to adhere to international norms and the rule of law undermines regional stability at a time when it is neededmost. —U.S. Secretary of Defense General James Mattis, speaking on Oct. 27 in Bahrain at the 14thManama Dialogue, an international security conference organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Contemporary Quote In announcing the decision, Trump added: “I also want to make one point very clear: This decision is not intended, in any way, to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement. We want an agreement that is a great deal for the Israelis and a great deal for the Palestinians. We are not taking a position of any final status issues, includ- ing the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved.” Speaking at the dedication ceremony on May 14, 2018 (the 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding), Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan described the deci- sion as “a recognition of reality—a reality many, many years in the making.” He called it “a step toward advancing peace in this city, in the broader region and throughout the world.” The Trump administration was virtu- ally alone in that view, however. All 14 of the other United Nations Security Council members voted in favor of a resolution condemning the U.S. decision as detri- mental to the Middle East peace process, leaving Washington to veto it. And the Palestinians declared that America was no longer an honest broker and broke off all participation in peace talks with Israel. In response, the State Department announced on Sept. 10 that it was closing the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, D.C., because the PLO “has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotia- tions with Israel.” On Oct. 18, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. cons ul- ate general in Jerusalem, which opened in 1844, will be merged into the new U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv. (He did not give a deadline for this process to be completed.) Secretary Pompeo declared that the embassy “will continue to conduct a full range of reporting, outreach and pro- gramming in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as with Palestinians in Jerusalem through a new Palestinian Affairs Unit inside U.S. Embassy Jerusalem.” But the plan eliminates a key ele- ment that had served past administra- tions well. In a unique arrangement, the U.S. consul general in Jerusalem did not report back to Washington through the ambassador. Instead, he or she had a direct reporting line back to the State Department, and for all intents and pur- poses—though not in name—played the role of ambassador to the Palestinians. State insisted that enhancing effi- ciency was the only motivation behind the move, but critics warned that the merger would do major harm to the United States’ ability to act as a media- tor in the conflict, and diminish the prospects of Israeli-Palestinian peace through a two-state solution.