Doha - Media Office - 10 September

Qatar expressed its regret over the announcement by the US administration that the PLO office in Washington DC was closed.

The State Department said in a statement today that the closure of the office would increase Israel's intransigence, and encourage it to continue its internationally rejected practices, and at the same time distance the US administration and the PLO from international efforts to revive the peace process to reach a comprehensive and just peace agreement between Palestinians and Israelis.

The Foreign Ministry reiterated the firm position of the State of Qatar on the Palestinian issue, based on the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative, based on a two-state solution to ensure the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.