In a press release on Sunday, Hamas also urged the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership to reject such pressures and align itself with its people.
“The US state department’s refusal to renew the regular permission for the PLO office to operate in Washington as a result of the accession of Palestine to the International Criminal Court and the decision to refer files to the court to prosecute Zionist war criminals confirms that the US is fully biased in favor of the occupation,” Hamas stated.
“Washington is not an honest mediator, and even provides them (Israelis) with immunity from prosecution for the crimes they have committed against our people, which gives them the green light to persist in that with no deterrence,” Hamas added.
The US government put the PLO on notice Friday that it will close the Palestinian party's office in Washington if the Palestinians act against Israel in the International Criminal Court, the officials said.
The department asserts that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ran afoul of US law in September when he called on the ICC to investigate and prosecute Israel for war crimes against the Palestinians.
In February, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said officials would take the issue of Israel's illegal settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories to the ICC.
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials have warned that they will freeze all communication with the US, following steps by the Trump administration to close the PLO’s office in Washington, DC.
Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Saturday the PLO had been informed by the US Department of State of a decision not to renew the operating permission for the organization’s diplomatic office in the American capital.
/106
