Sen. Cruz Issues Statement Applauding the Administration’s Decision to Close the Palestinian Liberation Organization Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today issued the following statement applauding the administration’s decision to close the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) office in Washington, D.C.:

“Thirty years ago, Congress correctly declared that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and its affiliates were terror groups who had no place keeping an office in the United States. Decades of Palestinian behavior since then has confirmed the wisdom of that judgment. Today, Palestinian leaders still refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish State, still incite and financially reward terrorism, and still lash out against our lawmakers and diplomats. Until today, presidents from both parties let the PLO keep an office open in Washington D.C., which signaled to Palestinian leaders that violence and intransigence had no costs, and so hindered the cause of peace. I have repeatedly introduced legislation requiring the office's closure, and recently sent a letter to the administration emphasizing that the office was operating illegally and calling for it to be closed. I commend President Trump and his administration for taking the necessary, prudent, and long overdue step of closing down the PLO office.” 

Sen. Cruz has long called for the closure of the PLO office in Washington D.C.:

• In December 2015, Sen. Cruz and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) sent a letter to former Secretary of State John Kerry, requesting that the State Department revoke the waiver allowing the PLO to maintain an office in Washington, D.C.
• In February 2016 and May 2017, Sen. Cruz and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) introduced the PLO Accountability Act.
• In June 2018, Sen. Cruz and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen penned a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General Jeff Sessions urging the administration to begin taking the necessary legal action to close the PLO office.

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