Palestinians threaten to cut ties

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Palestinian Authority has threatened to suspend communications with the United States if moves ahead with closing the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington, D.C.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement posted on social media that the Palestinians would “put on hold all our communications with this American administration.”

The State Department has refused to renew permission for the PLO to operate its office in Washington, D.C., for the first time since in about three decades. The decision can be overturned if President Donald Trump determines that the Palestinians “have entered into direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.”