US State Department rejects lawmakers' call to close PLO office in Washington

The U.S. government on Tuesday rejected a call from some Congressmen to close the Washington office of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), citing the PLO is an "important partner" to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"I would note, we believe closing the PLO office would be detrimental to our own ongoing efforts to calm current tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, advance a two-state solution and strengthen the U.S.-Palestinian partnership," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told a daily news briefing.

She was responding to a media question about a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry sent by Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate, and Representative Mark Meadows, calling for the closure of the PLO office in Washington.

The letter, also signed by 32 Congressmen, said the closure could "send a clear statement that the kind of incitement to violence perpetrated by the PLO and its leaders will not be tolerated."

It blamed the recent increase in violent attacks in Israel by Palestinians on "the message of hatred and intolerance" proclaimed by leaders within the PLO.

Trudeau said the U.S. government believes that the PLO, as the official representative body of the Palestinian people before the international community, "has a role to play in our efforts to advance a two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Every administration, either Republican or Democrat, has regularly exercised available waiver authority since 1994, allowing the PLO office to remain open," she said.

Trudeau added that the U.S. government remains "deeply concerned" about ongoing violence in Israel, Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip and completely rejects the notion that there is any justification for violence against innocent civilians.

"We continue to stress the importance of -- to Palestinian leadership -- strongly opposing violence in all forms. As we have said, affirmative steps are needed to calm tensions and reduce violence," she said.

Source: XINHUA