U.S. orders closure of Palestinian office
WASHINGTON — The United States ordered the closure of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington on Monday and threatened sanctions against the International Criminal Court if it pursues investigations against the U.S., Israel or other allies. The moves are likely to harden Palestinian resistance to the U.S. role as a peace broker.
The State Department cited the refusal of Palestinian leaders to enter into peace talks with Israel as the reason for closing the Palestine Liberation Organization office, although the U.S. has yet to present its plan to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians accused the administration of dismantling decades of U.S. engagement with them.
Shortly after the State Department announcement, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton criticized The Hague-based International Criminal Court. Bolton said that the ICC “is already dead” to the U.S. He also threatened the court and its staff with sanctions if it proceeds with investigations into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan.
The closure of the PLO office — the latest in a series of moves targeting the Palestinians — was centered on the fact that no “direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel” are underway despite previous warnings, the State Department said. It said the decision was also in line with U.S. law, a reflection of congressional concerns and consistent with U.S. policy to oppose and punish Palestinian attempts to bring Israel before the ICC.
The U.S. had told the Palestinians last year that closure was a distinct possibility unless they agreed to sit to down with the Israelis. It has yet to release its own muchvaunted but largely unknown peace plan, although it said it still intends to do so.
Instead of heeding the warning to resume talks, “PLO leadership has condemned a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen and refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. “As such, and reflecting congressional concerns, the administration has decided that the PLO office in Washington will close at this point.”
Bolton followed up in his address to The Federalist Society, a conservative, Washington-based think tank.
“The Trump administration will not keep the office open when the Palestinians refuse to take steps to start direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel,” he said. “The United States supports a direct and robust peace process, and we will not allow the ICC, or any other organization, to constrain Israel’s right to self-defense.”
Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said the move was “yet another affirmation of the Trump administration’s policy to collectively punish the Palestinian people, including by cutting financial support for humanitarian services including health and education.”
The Palestine Liberation Organization, commonly known as the PLO, formally represents all Palestinians. Although the U.S. does not recognize Palestinian statehood, the PLO has maintained in Washington a general delegation office that facilitates Palestinian officials’ interactions with the U.S. government.
“The United States continues to believe that direct negotiations between the two parties are the only way forward,” spokeswoman Nauert said in her statement. “This action should not be exploited by those who seek to act as spoilers to distract from the imperative of reaching a peace agreement.”
As for the ICC, Bolton questioned the legitimacy of the court and warned that the U.S. would thwart any attempt by its prosecutors to open investigations into Americans for alleged war crimes and other abuses in conflicts in Afghanistan or elsewhere. Bolton, a leading critic of the ICC, said the Trump administration would impose sanctions on the court and take other measures to hamper its ability to function should it proceed with such probes.