The State Department announced sanctions for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
According to the State Department, the Palestinian entities are “not in compliance with their commitments under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 (PLOCCA) and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002 (MEPCA)” by “initiating and supporting actions at international organizations that undermine and contradict prior commitments” and supporting terrorism through the “incitement and glorification of violence (especially in textbooks), and providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families.”
The sanctions specifically deny visas to PLO members and PA officials, although the State Department did not say what individuals are involved.
The announcement comes as U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for peace talks.
In a Truth Social post Thursday morning, President Trump demanded progress in peace negotiations. “The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” he wrote.
Trump told reporters in Scotland earlier this week that the United States must help “on a humanitarian basis.”
“Before we do anything, we have to get the kids fed, so we’ve been sending in a lot of food, a lot of the food that has been going there has been sent by the United States,” he said.
Netanyahu has asserted that there “is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza, and I assure you that we have a commitment to achieve our war goals.”
“We will continue to fight till we achieve the release of our hostages and the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities,” he said. “They shall be there no more.”
