Biden admin quickly changes U.S. Ambassador to Israel title to include West Bank and Gaza, then deletes change

UPDATED

Within a couple of hours of President Joe Biden’s swearing-in Wednesday, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel’s Twitter account was changed to include that the position will also oversee the West Bank and Gaza, first reported by The Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo.

The page was quickly reverted back to just state the position is the “U.S. Ambassador to Israel,” deleting the addition.

As Kredo notes in his piece, the earlier change signaled the first time the U.S. will have a policy stance on the Palestinian territories. Moreover, he writes that it could strain ties with Israeli officials.

On Tuesday, Antony Blinken, President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, testified before a Senate committee that he would push for a two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians and keep the U.S. Embassy in Israel in Jerusalem if confirmed.

Senator Ted Cruz asked Blinken if he both ‘agreed that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel’ and if he would ‘commit that the United States will keep our embassy in Jerusalem.”

To which Blinken replied resolutely, “Yes and yes.”

Follow Jennie Taer on Twitter @JennieSTaer