Trump Admin: PLO Washington Office Can Stay Open, But Only To Work On Peace

Donald Trump and Mahmoud Abbas at the White House, May 3, 2017 Image by Getty Images

By JTA November 26, 2017

(JTA) — The Trump administration will allow the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington DC to remain open but will require it to “limit its activities to those related to achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.”

The restrictions were announced by the State Department on Friday, and could be lifted after 90 days if the US determines the Israelis and Palestinians are engaged in “meaningful” peace negotiations.

“We therefore are optimistic that at the end of this 90-day period, the political process may be sufficiently advanced that the president will be in a position to allow the PLO office to resume full operations,” State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced that the PLO cannot operate a Washington office because it tried to convince the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis for crimes against Palestinians.

It was the first time the State Department refused to renew permission for the PLO to operate its office in Washington, D.C., for in about three decades. The certification must be renewed every six months.

The Trump administration is working on a U.S. plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace in an effort led by the president’s Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner, a senior White House advisor, and special negotiator Jason Greenblatt.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO