PA PM attacks the US administration: “The illegal American decisions come one after the other in order to deny the facts, and to attempt to subdue our people and break our resolve”
Headline: "Hamdallah: The decisions of the US will not succeed in forcing our people to relinquish its rights"
"[PA] Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said that the US can stop its aid to our people, threaten to put an end to UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), and close our embassy in Washington, but it will not succeed in forcing our people to relinquish its rights…
During his speech at the ceremony [to award] the Palestine Exporter Prize for 2018 that was held yesterday [Sept. 19, 2018] in Ramallah, Hamdallah added: 'The plots around us are intensifying in order to bypass our people’s cause and prevent the establishment of our independent state in the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. The illegal American decisions come one after the other in order to deny the facts, and to attempt to subdue our people and break our resolve.' He emphasized that this will not prevent us from following the diplomatic and legal path along which [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas is advancing."
US President Donald Trump's administration announced on Aug. 31, 2018 that it was immediately cutting all $360 million of annual American funding to UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). Explaining the decision, the US State Department said, "The fundamental business model and fiscal practices that have marked UNRWA for years – tied to UNRWA’s endlessly and exponentially expanding community of entitled beneficiaries – is simply unsustainable and has been in crisis mode for many years. The United States will no longer commit further funding to this irredeemably flawed operation."
The move came after the US froze two planned payments to UNRWA in early January 2018 for more than $100 million, and the US administration spoke about the need to reexamine and conduct a reform of the UN body. This occurred after the PA refused to negotiate with Israel and cut diplomatic ties with America following US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Dec. 6, 2017.
PLO US office closure - On Sept. 10, 2018,the US State Department announced the closure of the PLO US office, saying that there was no indication that the Palestinians had entered into meaningful negotiations with Israel. This was subsequent to the Trump administration announcing on Nov. 17, 2017, that the PLO has violated a 2015 Congressional mandate, which states that the PLO cannot operate an office in Washington if the Palestinians try to get the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis for crimes against the Palestinians. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson determined that the Palestinians violated this mandate in September 2017, when PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas called on the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Israelis while speaking at the UN.
"[PA] Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said that the US can stop its aid to our people, threaten to put an end to UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), and close our embassy in Washington, but it will not succeed in forcing our people to relinquish its rights…
During his speech at the ceremony [to award] the Palestine Exporter Prize for 2018 that was held yesterday [Sept. 19, 2018] in Ramallah, Hamdallah added: 'The plots around us are intensifying in order to bypass our people’s cause and prevent the establishment of our independent state in the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. The illegal American decisions come one after the other in order to deny the facts, and to attempt to subdue our people and break our resolve.' He emphasized that this will not prevent us from following the diplomatic and legal path along which [PA] President Mahmoud Abbas is advancing."
US President Donald Trump's administration announced on Aug. 31, 2018 that it was immediately cutting all $360 million of annual American funding to UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). Explaining the decision, the US State Department said, "The fundamental business model and fiscal practices that have marked UNRWA for years – tied to UNRWA’s endlessly and exponentially expanding community of entitled beneficiaries – is simply unsustainable and has been in crisis mode for many years. The United States will no longer commit further funding to this irredeemably flawed operation."
The move came after the US froze two planned payments to UNRWA in early January 2018 for more than $100 million, and the US administration spoke about the need to reexamine and conduct a reform of the UN body. This occurred after the PA refused to negotiate with Israel and cut diplomatic ties with America following US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Dec. 6, 2017.
PLO US office closure - On Sept. 10, 2018,the US State Department announced the closure of the PLO US office, saying that there was no indication that the Palestinians had entered into meaningful negotiations with Israel. This was subsequent to the Trump administration announcing on Nov. 17, 2017, that the PLO has violated a 2015 Congressional mandate, which states that the PLO cannot operate an office in Washington if the Palestinians try to get the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israelis for crimes against the Palestinians. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson determined that the Palestinians violated this mandate in September 2017, when PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas called on the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Israelis while speaking at the UN.