Report: Israel Seeks Shutdown of Palestinian Office in Washington

YERUSHALAYIM

In retaliation for Palestinian unilateral actions which resulted most recently in membership in Interpol, Israel is seeking to have the Trump administration close the Palestinian diplomatic office in Washington, according to an unconfirmed Israeli media report on Thursday.

Following a meeting with U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt on Wednesday, a GPO readout said that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told him that “the actions of the Palestinian leadership in recent days severely impairs the chances of achieving peace and added that the Palestinian diplomatic warfare would not go unanswered.”

Netanyahu noted that Palestinian actions at the ICC and their accession to Interpol, “violates signed agreements with Israel.”

In the readout Netanyahu did not specify how Israel would answer, but according to the report on the state broadcaster Kan on Thursday, shutting down the Palestinian office in Washington might be it. However, Kan did not cite sources for the story, which also said that the shutdown was discussed at the meeting with Greenblatt.

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Ministry have so far declined to comment on any punitive steps Israel might take against the Palestinians or Interpol.

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