We impose sanctions on Palestinian organizations

The United States said it would impose sanctions on Palestinian autonomous organizations and institutions representing it on the international stage.

These sanctions affect the Palestinian Authority (PA), established by the Oslo Peace Agreement, and also the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which was recognized after the same process as the official representative of the Palestinian people in exchange for recognition of Israel and abandoning violence.

The State Department said it will deny visas with PLO members and PA officials.

The timing and language of the statement suggests that it is the Trump administration’s response to the French Sudi leadership meeting held at the United Nations in France this week to rally support the two-national solutions in the future.

The meeting is in France, the United Kingdom and Canada committed to recognizing later this year an independent, non-military Palestinian state, which in some cases suffers from certain conditions.

If it participates in the “anti-Israel” declaration of the United Nations conference, the United States condemns these actions and warns of diplomatic consequences in private.

In its sanctions announcement, the State Department accused PA and PLO of taking action “internationalization conflict with Israel, such as through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) (ICJ).

It also referred to a series of long-standing complaints from the United States and Israel that Probaba and Pennsylvania continue to “support terrorism, including incitement and glorious violence (especially in textbooks), and provide payments and benefits to support terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families.”

Earlier this year, the Trump administration lifted sanctions on violent Israeli settlers who killed Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

A leading Palestinian politician called the sanctions a “revenge” for the United States as they promised that more and more countries would recognize the Palestinian state.

The PA seems to have echoed people’s opinions in a statement released Thursday.

“These movements have been escalating in response to the significant and continuous achievements of Palestinian diplomacy,” it said.

“In particular, the recognition of the Palestinian State by major countries, the successful UN conference in New York and the historic declarations issued therein.”

Mustafa Barghouti, founder of the Palestine State Initiative (PNI), a part of the PLO, said the United States is targeting the wrong side.

He told the BBC: “The Trump administration is not punishing criminals who commit war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, but … punishing victims, the Palestinian people.”

Israel welcomes the sanctions and thanks U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for imposing them.

“This important action [President Trump] “His government has also exposed moral distortions in certain countries that have run to a virtual Palestinian state while blinding to its support for terror and incitement,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said.

The Palestinian Authority has been rejecting complaints surrounding “salary”, saying the payments are allowances to all Palestinian prisoners detained under Israeli military occupation, many of whom have not received any due process and are held in violation of the Geneva Convention.

Palestinians have convicted all those detained by Israel and in their military courts, with a conviction rate of 99%, and are political prisoners. Last week, Pennsylvania said it was willing to terminate the payments in response to France’s commitment to recognize the Palestinian state, French officials said.

This week’s UN meeting further quarantines the United States to continue the war in Gaza in support of Israel, and many countries criticized it at the meeting.

The conference exposed the strategic vacuum left by Washington, traditionally leading diplomatic efforts to achieve viable long-term peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

A travel ban on Palestinian officials may be more limited in scope than comprehensive financial sanctions. For PA and PLO officials, obtaining a visa to travel to the United States has been a complicated and long process and requires special exemptions.

It is unclear whether the move will affect any UN officials in New York for Palestine missions. The current Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations and his representatives are both U.S. citizens.