JERUSALEM — Palestinian officials on Monday vowed not to bend to what they called the Trump administration’s bullying tactics after being notified that their office in Washington would be shut down and the blocking of their cases against Israel at the International Criminal Court.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said he had been officially notified of the decision, which is expected to be announced by U.S. national security adviser John Bolton later on Monday. He decried the move as a continuation of a policy of “collective punishment” by the U.S. administration.
“These people have decided to stand on the wrong side of history by protecting war criminals and destroying the two state solution,” he said. “I told them if you are worried about courts, you should stop aiding and abetting crimes.”
The move appeared to be the latest in a string of pressure tactics by the United States against the Palestinian leadership as the Trump administration drafts its long awaited peace deal. In a series of blows to the Palestinians, the United States has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moved its embassy there, cut funding to the U.N. agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, and then last week said it would withdraw $25 million in support from hospitals in East Jerusalem.
The United States last year threatened to close the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s in Washington after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Israel for war crimes. U.S. officials said the decision may be reconsidered if the Palestinians entered into direct negotiations with Israel.
Under conditions imposed by Congress, the PLO cannot operate a Washington office if it calls on the ICC to prosecute Israelis for crimes against Palestinians.In a speech on Monday Bolton will threaten to impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court if it proceeds with investigations against the United States or Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing an advanced copy of his speech.
The U.S. would ban ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the country, sanction their funds in the U.S. financial system, prosecute them in the courts, the report said.
However, Erekat said that the Palestinian leadership would double down in its efforts and would submit a new complaint to the ICC within 48 hours over the Israeli Supreme Court decision to demolish the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar.
He said that the United States is not “part of the peace process” and doesn’t even have the right to “sit in the room” during any negotiations, dismissing U.S. officials such as ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, as a “group of settlers” pursing a right-wing Israeli agenda.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO’s executive committee described the move as a form of “crude and vicious blackmail”.
“Such irresponsible moves are clear proof of American collusion with Israel’s occupation,” she said. “The U.S. would do better to finally understand that the Palestinians will not surrender and that no amount of coercion or unwarranted collective punishment measures will bring the Palestinian leadership or people to their knees.”
The moves are likely to be widely welcomed by the government in Israel, which was on holiday Monday to mark the Jewish New Year.
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