01 February 2017•Update: 02 February 2017
JERUSALEM
The United States has warned Palestinian leaders there will be harsh consequences for suing Israel in international courts, including steps against the Palestinian Authority, according to Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Wednesday.
Palestinian side were told that suing Israel in international courts would trigger severe steps by the Donald Trump-led U.S. administration, including the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington and an end to economic aid to the Palestinian Authority, the newspaper said.
“Despite that [UN Security Council] resolution by congress, the Palestinian leaders were counting on petitioning the court as a means of halting the settlements,” the newspaper quoted a Palestinian source as saying.
“But the message arriving from Washington in recent days made clear that any such step by the Palestinians would lead to serve American reaction so much so that some talked returning the PLO to the list of the terrorist organizations,” the source said.
According to Haaretz, the Palestinian source said that “every decision made since the acknowledgement of Palestine by the UN General Assembly in 2011, until the last Security Council resolution in December 2016, was designed to rescue the two-state solution.
“Netanyahu’s policy, including the recent accelerating construction of thousands of housing units while Washington stays silent, means destroying any chance of a future diplomatic solution,” the source added.
The message from the Trump administration, the newspaper asserted was transmitted through the American consulate and not through the White House or State Department.
