00:00The United States will provide on-site passport services this week in a West Bank settlement.
00:05Now this is the first time American consular officials have offered such services to settlers
00:10in the occupied territory. The move comes just days after Israel's cabinet approved measures
00:15to expand control over the West Bank. The U.S. Embassy said consular officers will offer
00:22routine passport services in Efrad on February 27th with similar services planned for others
00:28locations. Tens of thousands of dual U.S.-Israeli nationals are believed to live in the West Bank.
00:34Last week, Israel's cabinet approved measures to tighten the country's control over the West Bank
00:40using land purchases for settlers, a step Palestinians call de facto annexation. More than 700,000
00:47settlers live in the West Bank alongside some 3 million Palestinians who seek the territory for
00:52a future state. Most of the international community regards Israeli settlements as illegal
00:58under international law, a position Israel disputes. U.S. President Donald Trump has said
01:04he opposes formal annexation but has not taken steps to curb settlement expansion, which he has
01:10increased during his term.
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