U.S. Office of Palestinian
Affairs

U.S.-Palestinian Policy

The American diplomatic presence in Jerusalem has been unbroken since 1857.  The original home of the U.S. Consulate was a sizeable building in the Old City, just inside the Jaffa Gate. Then in 1912, the United States government leased a villa to the west of the Old City on Mamilla Road, later renamed Agron Road, and relocated the headquarters of the Consulate and the Consul General’s residence there. In March 2019, the U.S. Consulate General was merged into U.S. Embassy Jerusalem as the Palestinian Affairs Unit.  In June 2022, the United States announced the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA).   The OPA operates out of our historic Agron Road property to promote our overarching strategic objective of achieving a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

We seek to move the Palestinian economy to a model of healthy and sustainable private sector-led investment, growth and job creation.  Through public diplomacy, we harness the power of U.S. higher education and promote U.S. values and interests, including through collaborative academic and professional exchanges, English language learning, and promoting women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship development, as well as initiatives for young Palestinians to tap into career-enhancing opportunities involving science, technology and innovation.