By JTAUpdated: AUGUST 19, 2018 11:18American Flag(photo credit: REUTERS)
The US Department of State will close its consular office in Haifa, whose work is to be divided between the embassy branches in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.“The US Consular Agency in Haifa (26 Ben Gurion Boulevard) will be closed for public services from September 1, 2018, until further notice,” read a statement issued Friday.No reason was given for the closure.The Department of State took a 29-percent budget cut in the federal budget for 2018, which was passed in March. It was allocated $27.1 billion.In May, the United States opened an embassy in Jerusalem, whose total cost after renovations and adjustments will be $21.2 million, according to Business Insider.Earlier this week, the United States’ embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, announced that it is temporarily shutting down its consular section in Nigeria’s capital city. The embassy did not state the reason for the closure.