US government has expelled Palestinian Ambassador to the United States, Husam Zomlot, from the country, and frozen all the bank accounts of the family. New step followed closer of the PLO embassy in Washington
All American bank accounts affiliated with the PLO have also been frozen.
“By deliberately targeting the family of Ambassador Zomlot, the US administration has gone from cruel punishment to revenge against the Palestinians and their leadership even to the point of causing hardship to their innocent children and families,” PLO executive committee member Hanan Ashwari said in a statement.
According to Forward, “In recent weeks, the Trump administration has frozen nearly all foreign funding for Palestinians, including support for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network and the United Nations’s Palestinian refugee agency.”
In a traditional pre-Rosh Hashanah phone call with Jewish leaders, Trump said that funding to the Palestinians would cease until a peace agreement was reached. “You’ll get money, but we’re not paying you until we make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, we’re not paying,”
“Palestinian leaders have boycotted meeting with Trump administration officials ever since the president recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last December.”, reported Forward.
