Palestinians to suspend US ties if PLO office closed

Palestinian officials have warned they will freeze all communication with the United States following steps by the Trump administration to close the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) office in Washington, DC.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Saturday the PLO had been informed by the US Department of State of a decision not to renew the license for the organisation’s diplomatic office in the US capital.

The state department’s move was in response to the Palestinians’ decision to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and to submit files for investigation of several Israeli war crimes against Palestinians, including the building of illegal settlements, according to Erekat.

 

Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb reports from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.