President Trump refuses to reward terrorism and has slapped sanctions on the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for seeking statehood outside of a formal agreement with Israel.
Breitbart reported that the State Department has reported to Congress that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA) are not in compliance under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 (PLOCCA) and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002 (MEPCA). This American policy has been in place for decades and prevents the Palestinian Authority from seeking statehood without a formal agreement with Israel.
These sanctions come as the Palestinian Authority seeks unilateral recognition of statehood from the United Nations. Breitbart reported that France, Palestine, and the United Kingdom had announced their support for recognizing Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September in New York City.
President Trump has slammed these actions, Canada in particular, and wrote on Truth Social, “Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh, Canada!!!”
As a result of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA) actions, the State Department shared in a press release, “The United States is imposing sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials in accordance with section 604(a)(1) of the MEPCA. ”
The press release also slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) for “continuing to support terrorism, including incitement and glorification of violence (especially in textbooks), and providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families.”
This isn’t the first time that the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Palestine. In 2018, President Trump sanctioned Palestine for taking Israel to the ICC.
These sanctions are in the best interest of national security and to prevent the undermining of peace prospects. According to Breitbart, these sanctions also mean that visas for Palestinian officials are barred, which will make it impossible for said officials to attend the United Nations General Assembly. This is the assembly where the declaration of statehood is expected.