Bi-Partisan Legislation Introduced by U.S. Senators Urges Closure of D.C. PLO Office, Possible Termination of Aid to PA
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Chuck Schumer Israel Israel ICC Israel-Palestine John Barrasso Israel John Barrasso PA UN Bid Lindsay Graham Israel PA ICC PA UN Bid PLO DC Offices U.S. Senate and Israel
Sen. Charles Schumer. Photo: wiki commons.
Bi-partisan legislation has been introduced by U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Chuck Schumer (D-New York), John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), and Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) which calls for the immediate closure of the PLO’s office in Washington unless the Palestinians enter into peace negotiations with Israel and also eliminates American assistance to the PA if the International Criminal Court ”adjudicates any matter proposed or supported by the Palestinian Authority.”
“Senator Schumer is pushing to get a vote between today and tomorrow and encouraging both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to support it,” Senator Schumer’s Press Secretary Marisa Kaufman told The Algemeiner in an email.
Asked about the level of support for the bill in the Senate Kaufman said, “we’re optimistic we’ll get significant support.”
Senator Schumer said of the PA’s bid: ”Over the past year, Palestinian leaders have indicated an intention to apply for full membership in the International Criminal Court and over a dozen other international institutions in order to assert Palestinian claims against Israel. These unhelpful efforts would not only unfairly target our Israeli ally, but would devastate efforts to resume the peace process and do possibly irreparable harm to those international institutions. We stand united in preventing this from happening, and will do everything in our power to block the Palestinians from using the International Criminal Court and other international bodies to assert Palestinian claims against Israel.”
Senator Graham said: “Granting United Nations membership to the Palestinian authority is a nightmare in the making for the peace process and future relations between the Congress and UN. Granting a form of member-status to the Palestinians goes around the only viable way to negotiate a two state solution, that’s between the parties themselves.”
Senator Barrasso, who introduced separate legislation yesterday that would cut funds to both the PA and the UN, said ”The Palestinian Authority’s attempt to change their United Nations’ status is a purely political maneuver that will circumvent direct peace process negotiations with Israel.”
Senator Menendez added, ”We will not stand idly by and allow the Palestinians to evade the peace process by pressing their political cause through alternate means[...].”
The Palestinian authority’s bid for upgraded status at the UN is expected to go through Thursday despite objections from Israel and the United States.
11:04 am
To keep on funding the PLO in an anti-Hamas perspective, is like supporting the Fascists in an anti-Nazi perspective, or to fund the S.A. ’cause “more moderate” than the S.S.
The United States of America, in spite of a few like Henry Ford and Prescott Bush, KNEW BETTER and FOUGHT THE ENEMIES OF LIBERTY!
8:51 am
For the United States government to order the closing of the Palestinian office in Washington and/or to cut off all financial aid to the Palestinian National Authority would would clearly not help but would only hinder any possible moves towards peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Doing one or both of these things would antagonize Palestinians and the Arabs generally even more and would likely remove the United States from being able to play any positive and probably necessary role in promoting peace negotiations.
Norton Mezvinsky
9:16 am
Moderation from whom? The moderation should come from those who advocate the United States closing the Palestinian office and cutting funds to the PNA.
Norton Mezvinsky
1:11 am
If abu mazen wants to join the ICC, fine. Charge him for his role as financier of the PLO’s 1972 Olympic massacre.
12:23 am
Sets a precedent for alQida, FARC and Taliban to get same status as PLO and Vatican. Wasn’t Kafka Jewish?
12:00 am
Now this is GOOD news coming from Washington, DC!!! What a splendid idea to cut funding— really, cut out not reducing funding– to the PA and the UN, both of which Congress should have defunded years ago. I applaud the US Senators for recognizing and publicly acknowledging the PA’s purpose in seeking member status in the UN. Hopefully this bi-partisan legislation will pass without the usual bickering.