State Department closes office of Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington

Фото: Depositphotos

The US Department of State intends to close the representation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Washington since 1994.

The corresponding letter was sent by the ministry to the head of the Palestinian delegation to the United States, Saeb Erekat, reports DW.

The reason for the impossibility of further work of the PLO in Washington is the desire of the Palestinians to bring Israel to justice before the International Criminal Court because of the construction of Jewish settlements in Jerusalem.

This decision provoked outrage on the Palestinian side. Erekat said that the Israeli government had an impact on Washington, and also threatened to sever all contacts with the administration of US President Donald Trump, if the PLO office was really closed.

“Such a US step could have a negative impact on the entire peace process in the Middle East,” Erekat said in a video message.

Representative of the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, also noted that such a decision of the State Department would have a negative impact on the peace talks between Israel and Palestine.

According to the rules of the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington, the US Department of State must regularly issue a new permit for its further work. The term of the current permit expires at the end of November 2017 of the year, and the US diplomatic office said it could not extend it.

A State Department source stressed that the closure of the PLO office, which has operated since 1994, does not mean a break in relations. At the same time, Donald Trump may allow the further work of the mission if, within 90 days, he is convinced that “the Palestinians have begun direct and substantive negotiations with Israel.”

Recall, Israel considers the whole of Jerusalem as its capital, therefore, there is active construction there. At the same time, Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Therefore, the international community recognized the city as a neutral territory, dividing it between the opposing groups until the conflict is resolved.

The conflict over the construction of settlements in this city was considered by the UN Security Council and many courts, and in September 2017, the Palestinians demanded that it be considered in the International Criminal Court.

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