This Saturday, Palestinian officials warned that they would cut the very few existing ties they have with the US if the Trump Administration closes the Palestinian Liberation Organization Office in Washington DC.
While Palestine is not recognized as an independent state by the US, Palestinians are represented by the PLO, and the PLO’s office in Washington, D.C., is necessary for communication with the US.
The State Department recently cited “certain statements made by Palestinian leaders” as a motivation for this controversial move. According to Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat the State Department was reacting to the Palestinians’ decision to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a deeper investigation of several Israeli war crimes, including the illegal settlements.
It was back in September when the president of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, called for the International Criminal Court “to open an investigation and to prosecute Israeli officials for their involvement in settlement activities and aggressions against our people” during a speech at the U.N. General Assembly.
The Trump Administration justifies their calls to close the PLO’s office with a small provision in U.S. law that does not allow it to request Israeli prosecution for crimes against Palestinians. However, the Palestinians have rejected this feeble attempt to uproot their movement. As President Mahmoud Abbas puts it, “you cannot claim to support peace between Israelis and Palestinians and then close the Palestinians’ office in your capital.”
The US government’s partiality when it comes to brokering peace between Israel and Palestine is nothing new and the Palestinians will not respond to it, as the Trump Administration wishes they do, by entering talks with Israel. Trump now has 90 days to decide whether the Palestinians can keep the office, which will remain open for now.
