State Dept. rejects US lawmakers' calls to close PLO office - Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

by Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

Over 30 Congress members, including Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, appeal to Secretary of State John Kerry, arguing that Palestinian leaders encourage violence against Israelis • State Department: We believe the PLO has a valid place.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been asked to revoke the waiver that allows the PLO's Washington office to stay open | Photo credit: Reuters

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday rejected calls by 32 Congress members, including Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, to close the Washington office of the Palestine Liberation Organization. 

In a letter dated Dec. 18, the lawmakers call on Secretary of State John Kerry to revoke a waiver that allows the PLO office in Washington to remain open. They argue that Palestinian leaders encourage violence against Israelis, including a wave of terrorist stabbing attacks in recent months. 

"The United States government has an obligation to publicly denounce the PLO's actions and should immediately revoke its waiver," according to a copy of the letter posted on Cruz's website.

"Allowing the PLO to maintain an office in Washington, D.C., provides no benefit to the United States or the peace process," the letter said. 

State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau confirmed that the department had received the letter and said Kerry would respond to it.

"We believe that closing the PLO office would be detrimental to our ongoing efforts to calm tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, advance a two-state solution, and strengthen the U.S.-Palestinian partnership," Trudeau told reporters.

She said every U.S. administration since 1994 had used the waiver to keep the PLO office open. 

"We believe the PLO has a valid place ... and we'd oppose those efforts to close the office," Trudeau said, adding that Kerry had condemned the attacks.

In a visit to Jerusalem to calm Israeli-Palestinian tensions, Kerry described the recent violence as terrorism that must be condemned.

He has urged both Palestinian and Israeli leaders to stop inflammatory remarks that could worsen the situation.

Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=30629

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