This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact The Epoch Times Reprints.
The United States has sanctioned members of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) by denying them visas for travel to the country, the State Department said on July 31.
The Palestinian Authority is the governing body that administers part of the West Bank, while the PLO is internationally recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
In 1987, Congress passed the Anti-Terrorism Act, which classified the PLO as a terrorist organization and restricted its activities in the United States. U.S. presidents since the late 1980s have issued waivers at their discretion to allow for diplomatic engagement.
Two laws, the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 (PLOCCA) and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002 (MEPCA), set conditions for such engagement.
PLOCCA states that “any dialogue with the PLO be contingent upon the PLO’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist, its acceptance of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and its abstention from and renunciation of all acts of terrorism.”
MEPCA requires “the imposition of sanctions with respect to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) or the Palestinian Authority if the President determines that these entities have not complied with certain commitments made by the entities, and for other purposes.”
The State Department said on Thursday that the two organizations failed to meet their commitments under PLOCCA and the MEPCA, citing their “actions to internationalize” the conflict with Israel, including efforts involving the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
The department also accused the organizations of supporting terrorism, including through “incitement and glorification of violence (especially in textbooks),” and by providing payments and benefits to Palestinian terrorists and their families.
“The United States is imposing sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials in accordance with section 604(a)(1) of the MEPCA, ” the department said in Thursday’s statement. “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.”
The Palestinian Authority and the PLO have yet to publicly comment on the U.S. visa sanctions.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar commended the United States for the move, calling it an act of “moral clarity” that exposes “the moral distortion of certain countries that ran to recognise a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to its support for terror and incitement.”
“The PA must be held accountable for its ongoing policy of ‘Pay-for-Slay’ for terrorists and their families and incitement against Israel in its schools, textbooks mosques and media,” Saar stated on X.
The sanctions came as Canada, the United Kingdom, and France plan to formally recognize Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly in September, which is slated to take place at the U.N. headquarters in New York. The countries cited concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and called for a two-state solution.
The United States is required by the 1947 U.N. agreement to grant foreign diplomats access to its headquarters in New York, though Washington has said it can deny visas on grounds of security, terrorism, or foreign policy.
At least 146 U.N. member states, including Spain and China, have recognized a Palestinian state as of last year, according to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Israel and Gaza have been at war since Hamas-led terrorists launched a large-scale terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
The death toll in Gaza has risen to more than 59,000 as of July, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health department. Those numbers do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The Epoch Times cannot independently verify the numbers.
