In a surprise move, the U.S. State Department has deleted the Palestinian Authority (PA) from its list of countries and territories on its website. Until now, one could find “Palestinians” listed under “Palestinian Authority.” Prior to that, it was listed as the “Palestinian Territories.”

The deletion represents a significant decline in value for Palestinian status, from the perspective of the U.S., and the move is in addition to the State Department removing references to “occupied territories” in reference to Palestinian Arabs.