Abul Gheit condemns closure of PLO office in Washington

CAIRO – 11 September 2018: Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Abul Gheit condemned Tuesday the U.S. administration’s decision to shut down the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington, according to a statement issued by the Arab League.

Abul Gheit stressed that this decision is a crime against the Palestinians and affirmed that the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel last December revealed the full bias to the Israeli agenda.

He also said that all recent actions of the American administration, such as cutting off funds to the UNRWA and the cessation of aid to the Palestinian side, aimed at threatening the stability of the Palestinian administration.

“The solutions presented by the U.S. side to the Palestinian administration have no logical basis; the Palestinian side has not received any specific measures,” Abul Gheit added.

For his part, spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the Arab League Mahmoud Afifi said that the Arab League Council will hold a meeting at the ministerial level to discuss important issues related to the Palestinian cause as well as the U.S. decision to shutter the PLO’s office in Washington.

In August, Trump’s administration decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza, the State Department reported.

In December 2017, Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in a televised speech from the White House.The majority of the world leaders refused to acknowledge Trump’s decision, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Britain, France, Canada, Morocco, and Germany.

“We refuse Trump’s decision. It is a unilateral and unfortunate decision which undermines the peace process,” most of the leaders unanimously agreed.

Other statements even described the step as a "declaration of war" and "kiss of death". Calls for protests and demonstrations went viral within the Arab world, as Trump himself said that he was expecting.