Palestine Foreign Ministry: US Exerts Pressure Instead of Providing Peace Plan

A Palestinian diplomatic source, in an interview to Sputnik, commented on the current bilateral relations between the US and Palestine against the backdrop of the recent shutting down of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington.

"The US administration, flaunting the closure of the PLO office in Washington, tried to influence the Palestinian administration, which manifests the impact of the Jewish lobby in the United States and the role of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu… The US administration realized the gravity of the position of Palestine, which decided to break off relations and contacts with the United States, which emanated from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' decision," the source said.

On November 21, Palestinian leaders stopped communicating with the administration of US President Donald Trump after the US authorities threatened to close the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington, DC. The United States claimed that it considered the closure after Palestinian statements indicating plans to take Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Following Palestine's response, Washington postponed the decision on closure for 90 days.

In 2015, the US congress adopted a bill stipulating that Palestine loses the right to have a representative office in the US capital if it supports the ICC investigations into Israelis' crimes against Palestinians.

Relations between Israel and Palestine have been shattered for decades. Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, along with the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity, building Israeli settlements and dismantling the Palestinian property in the occupied areas, despite objections from the United Nations.