In a dramatic reversal of events, the US announced on Friday that it has overturned its earlier decision to close the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) mission in Washington.
The decision was most likely made as a result of a firm position taken by the Palestinian leadership not to communicate with the US while the closure order was in effect.
In accordance with diplomatic traditions, Palestine had announced it would not engage with the US if its office in Washington were forced to close.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused to take a call from Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and the lead US official on the peace talks, on Nov. 22, Palestinian media reported.
The PLO office’s permit expired on Saturday Nov. 8. Under US law, permission to operate must be renewed every six months unless a presidential waiver was signed. No waiver was signed.
State Department spokesman Edger Vasquez, said Friday that the PLO delegation can operate but must “limit its activities to those related to achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.”
Vasquez also noted “we are optimistic that at the end of this 90-day period, the political process may be sufficiently advanced that the president will be in a position to allow the PLO office to resume full operations.”
The PLO mission produces a host of consular activities that benefit some half a million dual American-Palestinian citizens and others wishing to visit or work in Palestine. It is not clear if these activities will be limited.
The head of the PLO mission in Washington, Hussam Zomlot, told Arab News that the mission was constantly under threat of closure, despite bilateral agreements and cooperation with the US on various fronts.
“It is unacceptable that the status of our office continues like that and we must correct it,” Zomlot added.
Lara Friedman, the newly appointed president of the Middle East Foundation for Peace, explained in a well-researched article on the foundation’s website that, over the years, members of the US Congress have “inserted” into major laws clauses that tied the hands of the executive branch on relations with the PLO.
For decades, supporters of Palestinian rights have called the US Congress “Israeli-occupied territory” because of the disproportional influence of the pro-Israel lobby over America’s legislative branch.
Friedman’s piece suggests that influence has allowed lobbyists to slip all kinds of provisions into US law.
Even before the US formally recognized the PLO, former President Ronald Reagan had declared provisions restricting the ability of the president to deal with foreign powers as “unconstitutional.”
Talking specifically about dealing with the PLO, he stated on Dec. 22, 1987, that “the right to decide the kind of foreign relations, if any, the US will maintain is encompassed by the president’s authority under the constitution.”
Vasquez used similar language on Friday when explaining to The Associated Press (AP) the reason for the Trump administration’s retraction, saying “these actions are consistent with the president’s authorities to conduct the foreign relations of the United States.”
After the retraction, Friedman told Arab News that the Trump administration had made the correct call.
“It is the right decision to protect American National Security interest and preserve the right to freely make foreign policy decision,” she said, adding that previous administrations should not have allowed this “unconstitutional” provision to remain as a law on the books.
Friedman warned, however, that the retraction did not mean “the episode is over,” particularly in light of Trump’s often-inconsistent decision-making.
“Now there is no longer a specific issue for which the closure can be triggered,” she explained. “After 90 days it can rest on the whim of the president and it is not comforting to be under the whim of this president.”
In addition to the Palestinian leadership’s refusal to communicate with America while the closure order was being enacted, Palestinian Americans and US peace groups began a campaign to keep the PLO office open.
Zomlot told Arab News that dozens of organizations had called him suggesting that they were willing to make space available in their offices to host the PLO team, if needed.
Zomlot also said he had met on Nov. 18 in New Jersey with representatives who elected a liaison committee for Palestinian Americans based in the northeast of America. That meeting came after similar efforts to unite Palestinian Americans took place in Chicago and on the US west coast