The United States Department of State has taken the extraordinary step of ordering the closure of Palestine’s representative office in Washington DC. In a press release, the State Department said that the Trump administration determined that the mission of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which is the internationally-recognizes body representing Palestinians, would be shut down as a result of a lack of steps taken by the PLO to advance meaningful negotiations with Israel. “[T]he PLO has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel. To the contrary, 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,” said the State Department in the press release published on 10 September 2018. “As such, and reflecting Congressional concerns, the Administration has decided that the PLO office in Washington will close at this point. This decision is also consistent with Administration and Congressional concerns with Palestinian attempts to prompt an investigation of Israel by the International Criminal Court.” Despite the decision, which has been strongly condemned by Palestinian leaders,…
