State Department Sanctions Palestinian Authority Officials, PLO Members

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

The State Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This comes as U.S. officials arrived in Israel to hold further cease-fire talks.

“It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.

The department further said that the PA and PLO aren’t “in compliance with their commitments under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989,” as well as the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002, because they have taken “actions to internationalize its conflict with Israel, such as through the International Criminal Court [ICC],” and other means.

The statement also accused both organizations of “continuing to support terrorism, including incitement and glorification of violence (especially in textbooks),” and “providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families.”

The sanctions come as special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday in a bid to save the Gaza cease-fire talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. Israel faces growing world pressure over the war in Gaza, and several Western powers have said they will recognize a Palestinian state.

In the statement, the State Department did not say what individuals associated with the PLO or PA would face sanctions.

Earlier in July, the State Department announced it had placed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the area, over efforts to have the ICC act against the United States and Israel, along with officials, executives, and companies.

“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on July 9 in a post on X.

Last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict.

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump wrote that the nearly two-year Israel–Hamas conflict could be ended if Hamas surrenders and releases the remaining hostages the terrorist group took during its October 2023 attack on Israel.

“The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” Trump wrote, referring to international concerns over reports of mass starvation in Gaza.

The president has said that he was impacted by watching footage of starving children in Gaza, telling reporters during his visit to Scotland this week that “there’s nothing you can say other than it’s terrible when you see the kids,” adding in another interview that the United States would set up food centers in the area.

It comes as the top leaders in Canada, the United Kingdom, and France have said they would recognize a Palestinian state separate from Israel.

On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that the country would recognize a Palestinian state in September at the U.N. General Assembly.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry denounced Canada’s move in a post on Wednesday, saying it would boost Hamas.

Trump also suggested that the move could make it difficult for the United States and Canada to reach a tariff agreement.