US wants PLO’s Washington office to stay

WASHINGTON: The US wants the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to keep its Washington office open, the State Department said on Tuesday.

Washington is in talks with Palestinian officials about the issue despite a US decision that could trigger its closure. A State Department official on Saturday said under US law, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson could not renew a certification for the PLO office to operate “given certain statements made by the Palestinian leaders about the International Criminal Court (ICC).”

The PLO reacted with fury and claimed to have broken off ties with the Americans — imperiling President Donald Trump’s stated goal of a negotiated Middle East peace deal.

Under long-standing law, the PLO, the main Palestinian umbrella political body, cannot operate a Washington office if it urges the ICC to prosecute Israelis for alleged crimes against Palestinians.

In September, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN called on the ICC “to open an investigation and to prosecute Israeli officials for their involvement in settlement activities and aggressions against our people.”

When questioned on the closure by reporters, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert went as far as to say: “I think we’d like for them to be able to keep it open.”

Speaking at the press briefing, Nauert said the matter was under discussion and that, as far as she knew, the office was up and running for now.

“We are in contact with the Palestinian officials about the status of that PLO office. I don’t want reporters to get ahead of themselves in reporting on this,” she added, suggesting that talk of the office’s closure might be premature.

“Shutting down an office —