US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL.) led a group of 16 Republican lawmakers in urging US President Joe Biden to "refrain from reopening the Mission of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Washington and the US Consulate General in Jerusalem for the Palestinians, according to a statement on Rubio's website.
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Noting they were committed to constructive engagement with the Palestinian people, the lawmakers said they would oppose any efforts by the administration of US President Joe Biden to "provide rewards and incentives to the Palestinian leadership or Hamas for their abhorrent support of violence and terrorism, their efforts to press the ICC [International Criminal Court] to illegitimately investigate Israel, and other efforts to circumvent direct negotiations with Israel."
The GOP legislators particularly highlighted their concern at Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's recent announcement that the US would reopen the Consulate General in Jerusalem, as well as reports the administration intended to reopen the PLO's offices in Washington.
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"It is particularly misguided at a time when the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, along with the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas, incited and supported recent violent riots, rock-throwing, and other terror attacks in Jerusalem," they said.
"This was escalated by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad firing more than 4,000 rockets that rained down terror on Israeli civilians. We urge you to adhere to US law and ensure both of these diplomatic missions remain closed."
They further maintained that reopening the diplomatic mission to the Palestinians in Israel's capital "would wrongly indicate that the US supports dividing the capital city of our close ally and would only reward the Palestinian leadership's continued hostility toward Israel."
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
