Senator Cruz, Representative Ros-Lehtinen: 'The PLO Office in the United States Has Existed and Exists Today in Violation of U.S. Law'

"On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen penned a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General Jeff Sessions regarding the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) office in the United States. In the letter, they urge the Administration to begin taking the necessary steps and instituting the necessary legal action to close the PLO office, citing the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987.

'Thirty years ago, Congress found, as part of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987, enacted as part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (Public Law 100-204), that the PLO and its affiliates were terrorist organizations threatening the United States. Congress therefore prohibited the PLO, among other things, from establishing or maintaining an office anywhere in the United States. Decades of PLO actions have confirmed the wisdom of that conclusion,'...

Over the years, using various authorities, Congress has permitted the President to waive that prohibition in one of two ways. First, the President can waive § 1003 of P.L 100-204, and allow the PLO to maintain an office in the United States, if he certifies to Congress that the Palestinians have neither obtained membership in the United Nations, nor initiated or actively supported an International Criminal Court investigation against Israeli nationals for alleged crimes against Palestinians. In November 2017, President Trump and then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson correctly refused to make that certification in light of statements by PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, which baselessly called on the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Israelis.

Second, if the President cannot make that certification, he can, no less than 90 days later, issue a secondary waiver if he certifies to Congress 'that the Palestinians have entered into direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.' To date, President Trump has not made this certification either.

Because these waivers have not been issued, the PLO office in the United States has existed and exists today in violation of U.S. law..."