US Reverses Order to Close PLO Office in DC

State Dept Says They 'Warned' Palestinians to Limit Activities

The Palestinian threat to retaliate by severing all diplomatic ties with the US appears to have worked, and officials have confirmed that the US has backtracked on a previous order for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to close its office in Washington D.C.

The State Department regularly has to offer temporary permits to keep the office open, and after previously saying they wouldn’t do so, to “punish” the Palestinians for joining the International Criminal Court, they’ve since granted them another 90 day permit to stay open.

The State Department is trying to save face, however, saying that while they’re letting the PLO stay open, they have “advised the PLO Office to limit its activities” to only those specifically related to the peace talks.

Israel is mad at the Palestinians for joining the ICC. Israel is not a party to the ICC, which is their way of trying to avoid facing court for war crimes, but the Palestinians’ membership gives the ICC jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.