State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert confirmed in a statement that the U.S. is shutting down the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington D.C., blaming the PLO for not taking “steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.” National Security Advisor John Bolton also announced the Trump administration’s closure of the PLO office at a speech before the conservative Federalist Society. He announced the U.S. will ban ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the U.S., sanction their funds in the U.S. financial system, and prosecute them in American courts. Just minutes before Bolton made his announcement, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley convened a special meeting of the Security Council to discuss ways to combat corruption around the world.
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