Trump administration tells Palestinians to enter talks with Israel or lose Washington office

Haaretz:
The Trump administration has notified the Palestinian Authority that unless it enters serious peace negotiations with Israel, the U.S. could shut down the Palestinian diplomatic delegation in Washington, D.C. within the next few months.

The message was relayed to the Palestinians by the U.S. State Department recently, but it did not include a firm timeline. It was first reported on Friday by the Associated Press.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the Palestinians that this decision was reached as a result of statements made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who called on the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel and prosecute actions by Israelis.

The State Department said that the statements made by Abbas go against a U.S. law which stipulates that the Palestinian mission should be closed if the Palestinians try to take action against Israel at the ICC.
...
According to al-Maliki, the Palestinian Authority would not give in to "extortion" regarding its diplomatic mission in Washington or the peace process with Israel. He said rather that a decision on the mission should be made in consultation between the State Department and the White House.
...
The Saudis have also recently put pressure on the Palestinians to accept the deal being brokered by Kushner for the Trump administration.  In the past move of the pressure for concessions has been imposed on the Israelis while ignoring Palestinian intransigence. 

The Palestinians have never been very smart in negotiations and that is one reason why they have shrinking prosp[ects for a state.  They are still a beggar entity living off the generosity of others and donors are beginning to pull back from supporting them.  Those donor states now see Israel as a much more important ally in dealing with teh threat posed by Iranian hegemony in the region.

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