Today, Thursday, the United States of America announced the change of the name of its diplomatic mission to the Palestinians in Jerusalem from the "Palestinian Affairs Unit at the American Embassy" to the "American Office of Palestinian Affairs."
The US State Department said in a statement that the new office will submit its report directly to Washington "on substantive matters", in reference to a possible upgrading of relations before President Joe Biden's planned visit to the region.
Before it became the Palestinian Affairs Unit, its name was the US Consulate in Jerusalem.
US President Joe Biden had decided to reopen the US Consulate General in Jerusalem, after former US President Donald Trump closed it in 2019, but he did not specify a date for implementing the decision.
Israel announced its refusal to reopen the US Consulate in Jerusalem.
Nevertheless, the Palestinians insist that the US Consulate, which deals with relations with the Palestinians, should be reopened.
A spokesman for the US mission said that the US Office of Palestinian Affairs will operate under the auspices of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, and will report on material matters directly to the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
There was no comment so far from Palestinian officials.
Today, Thursday, the Palestinians are scheduled to host the US State Department envoy Hadi Amro in Ramallah at the government headquarters in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also declined to comment on the renaming of the mission in Jerusalem on Thursday.