The Palestinians were shocked to receive US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s message about the intentions of the United States to close the PLO’s office in Washington unless progress was made in the diplomatic negotiations on Nov. 18.

Tillerson's threat came on the heels of a Palestinian attempt to bring high-ranking Israeli officials to trial for war crimes in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had called on the ICC on several occasions to investigate acts carried out by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. And in February 2017 — as a response to Abbas' reaction to the Regularization Settlement Law adopted by Israel — the Americans threatened to impose sanctions on the Palestinians. These sanctions would include the closure of the PLO office in Washington should the Palestinians dare turn to the ICC.

After the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accord in the White House, a law was passed by Congress that permitted the PLO to open an office in the American capital but stipulated that the US State Department would be allowed to close the office should the Palestinians operate against Israel in the ICC.

In the course of White House contacts with Abbas’ office and the attempt to re-start diplomatic negotiations with Israel, an agreement was reached: The Palestinians would freeze all their activities in the international forum and wait for the consolidation and completion of an American diplomatic initiative. This is also known as the “ultimate deal,” as promised by President Donald Trump. According to the US State Department, the Palestinians violated these understandings and are therefore subject to punitive measures.