The US Embassy in Israel announced Tuesday that it will for the first time operate pop-up locations in a pair of West Bank settlements to provide passport services to American citizens.

The first pop-up will be held on Friday in the Efrat settlement, which is home to a large American expat community.

The ultra-Orthodox settlement of Beitar Illit will also host a consular services event along with the Palestinian city of Ramallah, the US embassy said in an X post, adding that there will also be pop-ups in Haifa, Jerusalem, Netanya and Beit Shemesh.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry welcomed “the historic decision by the US Embassy in Jerusalem to extend consular services to American citizens in Judea and Samaria.”

“Thank you [US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee] for making the relation between Israel and the US closer and stronger than ever,” the Foreign Ministry tweeted.

The US offers passport and consular services at the Embassy in Jerusalem as well as at a Tel Aviv branch office. The number of dual American-Israeli nationals living in the West Bank is estimated to be in the tens of thousands.

The US embassy has previously provided consular services in Ramallah and other Palestinian cities in the West Bank. There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials to Tuesday’s announcement.

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Earlier this month, Efrat’s mayor appeared to try and preview the pop-up, but referred to it as a consular branch, leading the US embassy to issue a denial that it was planning to launch something more permanent.

While US President Donald Trump has said that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, Huckabee has expressed support for the controversial move in the past, and the embassy’s decision to operate out of West Bank settlements would appear to be a nod toward Israeli sovereignty in the territory.

The international community — with the notable exception of the United States under Trump — considers settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. Israel, which conquered the area in the 1967 Six Day War, disputes that position, citing historic ties to the region and a security imperative in holding on to it.

However, after the Israeli security cabinet’s approval Sunday of a series of measures aimed at expanding Jerusalem’s grip in the areas Palestinians hope will make up their future state, Trump and his administration responded by reiterating opposition to annexation, having expressed concerns it could upend efforts to stabilize the Gaza Strip.

Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.

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