The US has officially closed its consulate in Jerusalem, which served Palestinians, and has folded it into the US embassy to Israel.

The consulate functioned as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians for decades, but now that mission will be handled by a Palestinian affairs unit under the command of the embassy.

The symbolic shift hands authority over US diplomatic channels with the West Bank and Gaza to ambassador David Friedman, a longtime supporter and fundraiser for the West Bank settler movement and fierce critic of the Palestinian leadership.

“This decision was driven by our global efforts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our diplomatic engagements and operations,” State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.

“It does not signal a change of US policy on Jerusalem, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip.”

Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Show all 10 1 /10 Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters burn tires during a demonstration on the Israel border on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters run through smoke from tear gas and burning tires during a demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters climb the fence along the border with Israel during a demonstration AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters holding national flags walk past burning tires during a demonstration on the Israel border AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border A Palestinian protester wears a head band as he takes part in a demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel, east of Gaza City on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters and a medic run to pick up a child during a demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters run through smoke from tear gas and burning tires during a demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border A man carries the Palestinian flag during a demonstration near the border fence with Israel AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border A Palestinian protester wears a mask painted in the colours of the national flag during a demonstration on the Israel border AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border A Palestinian protester returns a tear gas canister thrown by Israeli troops during a demonstration on the border AFP/Getty

When first announced by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in October, the move infuriated Palestinians, with Palestinian official Saeb Erekat slamming the move as “the final nail in the coffin” for the US role in peacemaking.

Speaking on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Dr Hanan Ashwari said: “The Trump Administration is intent on leaving no room for doubt about its hostility towards the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights as well as its abject disregard for international law and its obligations under the law.

“Merging the US Consulate in Jerusalem with the US Embassy to Israel, which is now illegally located in Jerusalem, is not an administrative decision. It is an act of political assault on Palestinian rights and identity and a negation of the Consulate’s historic status and function, dating back nearly two hundred years.”

She added: “The US administration is subsuming Palestine under Israel and aligning itself with the racist Israeli right, which negates Palestinian identity, history, narrative and national rights.

“It is positioning itself with rogue states that have no regard for international law or respect for the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, a founding principle of the international order as we know it.”

Trump backs two-state solution for Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Donald Trump outraged the Arab world and came under international criticism for recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017, and for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem last May.

The administration also slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, including assistance to hospitals and peace-building programmes.

It has cut funding to the UN agency that provides aid to Palestinians classified as refugees.

Last Autumn, it shut down the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington.

Palestinian leaders suspended diplomatic contacts with the US administration after the embassy move and have since boycotted US efforts to craft a long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, accusing Washington of pro-Israel bias.

The Trump administration has cited the reluctance of Palestinian leaders to enter peace negotiations with Israel as the reason for such punitive measures, although the US has yet to present its much-anticipated but still mysterious “Deal of the Century” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.