Arab American Group Says Closing of PLO's Washington Office Hinders Peace Process

Washington, MINA — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) condemned on Monday the decision by US President Donald Trump’s administration to close the General Delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the United States and said it hinders the Middle East peace process, WAFA reported.

“In making such a decision, the administration affirms its intent to punish the Palestinian people, and proves that its role as a peace mediator of the conflict is merely a farce,” said ADC, the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the US committed to defending the rights of people of Arab descent and promoting their cultural heritage.

“With this decision, the Trump administration continues to marginalize Palestinians,” it said in a statement. “Since 1994, every administration has elected to routinely sign a waiver allowing the PLO, which is the formal international representative of the Palestinian people, to maintain a mission in Washington, D.C. Despite the ebb and flow of the conflict over the past several years, every waiver has been renewed — until now. Shutting down the PLO mission rewards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he continues to build illegal settlements, occupies Palestinian land, oppresses Palestinian protesters, and refuses to accept any sort of solution that honors Palestinian existence and autonomy.”

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ADC said that John Bolton, Trump’s National Security Advisor, claims that the administration is closing the mission because “Palestinians refuse to start direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.” However, it added, he fails to acknowledge that the administration’s stance has been determinedly pro-Israel, and leaves hardly anything of substance for the Palestinians to negotiate.

“The Palestinians have protested peacefully and continuously compromised for the sake of engagement. Yet the Trump administration has cut financial support for UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) while continuing to give Israel more than $3 billion every year, moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and questioned the Palestinian right of return.

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The Trump administration and Israel have sabotaged their supposed goal of a two-state solution and are coercing the Palestinians into what can only be called a sham of a so-called peace agreement.”

It said the Trump administration’s decision “follows a string of other disheartening and cruel policies that will have damaging implications on the peace process. The blatant disregard for Palestinian autonomy not only and obviously harms the Palestinians, but also shows that Trump’s administration does not believe in any sort of autonomy or legitimate representation of the Palestinian people.

“The Palestinians now have only further reason to avoid the negotiations table and to cease communications with the administration. On the 25th anniversary of the Oslo Accords, the Trump administration and Israel have shown that viability for a two-state solution is bleak at best,.” it added.

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ADC said it is appalled at the Trump administration’s determination to further hinder the peace process in the Middle East and called on the White House to reverse its decision to close the PLO’s diplomatic mission in the US and to uphold its obligation to act as a neutral mediator of peace in the conflict. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)