<span style="color: #222222;">The United States has officially shuttered its consulate in Jerusalem, downgrading the status of its main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians by folding it into the U.S. Embassy to Israel.<br />''<br />'' The U.S. State Department yesterday in a statement said that this decision was driven to increase the efficiency and effectiveness in diplomatic engagements. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said that It does not signal a change of US policy on Jerusalem, the West Bank, or the Gaza Strip.<br />''</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">For decades, the consulate functioned as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians. Now, that outreach will be handled by a Palestinian affairs unit, under the command of the embassy. </span><br />