Cruz, other GOP lawmakers urge closure of PLO’s Washington office
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz is pressuring the administration of US President Barack Obama to close a Palestinian office in Washington, accusing them of “terrorism.”
On Monday, Cruz and his fellow Republican Mark Meadows sent a letter to Obama, signed by 30 other GOP lawmakers, calling for closure of a Washington office belonging to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
The lawmakers repeated GOP’s common discourse in defense of Israel, saying has "seen a dramatic increase in deadly attacks carried out by Palestinians sympathetic to the message of hatred and intolerance proclaimed by (PLO) leaders."
They previously passed a legislation to ban the PLO from maintaining an office, but that included a provision allowing the president to temporarily waive the requirement.
"The United States government has an obligation to publicly denounce the PLO’s actions and should immediately revoke its waiver," read the letter. "Allowing the PLO to maintain an office in Washington, D.C. provides no benefit to the United States or the peace process."
It also linked recent terror attacks in the US “to the Palestinian government’s teaching of hate and glorification of terrorism."
Cruz said himself in a statement that "it is long past time for the United States to hold the PLO and its leaders accountable for engaging in such rampant incitement, for celebrating the murder of Jews, and for providing payment to Palestinian terrorists jailed in Israel and their families."
The office has reportedly remained open since 1994.
Cruz and his fellow Republicans, however, remained silent on death of nearly 130 Palestinians killed by Israel since the start of October.
Tensions have dramatically escalated in the occupied territories since August, when the Israeli regime imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds.
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