Members of US Congress Call for Shutdown of PLO’s US Office
Standing with Israel during a time of crisis, US lawmakers have demanded that the Obama administration close the PLO embassy in Washington while Palestinian incitement and terror attacks against Israelis continue.
Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry calling for the shutdown of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) semi-official embassy in Washington, in wake of continued Palestinian terror attacks in Israel that have killed 21 victims and wounded over 250.
Senators Ted Cruz (R, Tx) and Congressman Mark Meadows (R, NC) co-authored the letter which was signed by 30 other members of Congress, who demanded that the administration revoke the PLO’s waiver permitting it to maintain an office in the US capital.
In the letter, the senators accuse the PLO of inciting to terror, funding terrorism and paying imprisoned Palestinian terrorists a salary as an award for acts of terrorism, and bring materials provided by the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) to substantiate their assertions.
Israel has been facing a wave of attacks, and “the spike in violence in Israel is directly connected to the Palestinian government’s teaching of hate and glorification of terrorism,” the letter stated.
Sen. Ted Cruz. (AP/Charlie Neibergall)
“Shockingly, despite being complicit in spreading hatred and terror, the PLO retains an office in Washington, D.C.,” the lawmakers wrote. “We ask that the State Department revoke the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s waiver to maintain an office in the United States.”
“Closing the PLO office in Washington, D.C., would send a clear statement that the kind of incitement to violence perpetrated by the PLO and its leaders will not be tolerated,” they stressed in the letter. “The United States government has an obligation to publicly denounce the PLO’s actions and should immediately revoke its waiver. Allowing the PLO to maintain an office in Washington, D.C. provides no benefit to the United States or the peace process.”
