Reports: U.S. Plans to Eliminate Security Office Coordinating With Palestinian Authority

Date: 02 May 2025 - 22:38

News ID: ۱۳۹۰۸۲

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – The Trump administration plans to eliminate the position of U.S. security coordinator for the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to several media reports.
U.S. General Mike Fenzel, who has held the position since 2021, was told last week that his position is going to be cut, with an announcement due in the coming weeks, The Times of Israel reported.
Axios reported earlier that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was weighing axing the position, but has yet to make a decision, although Fenzel told colleagues he believes his position will be eliminated.
The U.S. Security Coordinator’s (USSC) office is a little-known post, but it is the most public centerpiece of the U.S.’s defense engagement with the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security services.
The position was created in 2005 to train PA security forces and foster coordination with the Zionist regime. The Al-Quds office is tied to the U.S. State Department, but its chief is a U.S. general.
Questions about the USSC’s fate have swirled publicly since 22 April, when Rubio unveiled a list of offices that will be part of his reorganisation of the State Department. The USSC was not listed among the departments and Bureaus.
The USSC coordinates arms supplies and training to the Palestinian security services. It is also a channel of communication between the Zionist regime and the PA when ties between them are tense or downgraded.
The Central Intelligence Agency also plays a role in providing support to the PA’s security services clandestinely, officials say.
The Times of Israel reported that the Trump administration is not considering eliminating the position as a matter of policy, but as part of a wider cost-saving drive.
Regardless, if the USSC is eliminated, it would signal a swift downgrade in the administration’s priorities. The Biden administration put a renewed focus on the USSC as part of its post-war planning for the Gaza Strip.
Middle East Eye reported in June 2024 that former senior U.S. officials circulated a plan for U.S. Central Command to become more involved in coordinating with the PA’s security services as part of “post-war” Gaza planning. A slew of the Biden administration’s plans for post-war Gaza never materialized.
After a brief ceasefire announced in January, Israel resumed its war on Gaza in March with Trump’s support.