National Security Advisor John Bolton will say it’s because the Palestinian group didn’t start “meaningful negotiations” with Israel
The US is set to close the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in Washington, the latest move by President Donald Trump to close and defund pro-Palestinian institutions.
Officials said the announcement would be made on Monday, one day after the 15th anniversary of the Letter of Mutual Recognition that saw Israel and the PLO recognise each other’s legitimacy.
According to a draft speech seen by the Wall Street Journal, national security advisor John Bolton will blame the Palestinians for failing to restart peace negotiations with Israel.
“The United States will always stand with our friend and ally, Israel,” he will say.
“The Trump administration will not keep the office open when the Palestinians refuse to start direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.”
Trump has pledged to reach the “ultimate deal” – Israeli-Palestinian peace – but has declined to commit to a two-state solution, for years the focus of international diplomacy.
He has also sided with Israel on core issues in the conflict, such as recognising the disputed city of Jerusalem as its capital, while publicly asking for no concessions in return.
Those moves have delighted Israeli politicians who oppose a Palestinian state, but dismayed supporters of a two-state solution.
As the 15th anniversary approaches of the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords – which created a degree of autonomy in the occupied West Bank and Gaza and created a frame work for a two-state solution – few Palestinians will be celebrating, as Israeli settlement building has multiplied in the West Bank on land Palestinians see as part of their future state.
Some 600,000 Israeli settlers now live there and in annexed east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their capital.
ICC sanctions
Increasingly, as prospects for a negotiated solution retreat, Palestinian leaders have sought other means to challenge Israeli actions in the territories occupied after the 1967 war.
In May, the Palestinian Authority submitted a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling on the body to open an investigation into “settlement expansion, land grabs, illegal exploitation of natural resources, as well as the brutal and calculated targeting of unarmed protesters, particularly in the Gaza Strip”.
Bolton, a longtime opponent of the ICC, will announce on Monday that the US will impose sanctions against ICC officials who attempt to investigate either the US or Israel.
“If the court comes after us, Israel or other allies, we will not sit quietly,” Bolton will say.
He said the US was prepared to ban ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the the country in these circumstances.
“We will sanction their funds in the US financial system, and we will prosecute them in the US criminal system. We will do the same for any company or state that assists an ICC investigation of Americans.”
The US said last month it would cease all funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) which helps some three million needy refugees across the Middle East.
Palestinian leaders see these moves as part of an effort to “liquidate” their cause.
Bolton will also announce that the US will oppose any ICC probe into alleged war crimes committed by US forces in Afghanistan.
“The United States will use any means neccessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,” he is expected to say.
