US President Barack Obama cited national security concerns when he announced the re-issuance of wavers on Wednesday, easing rules for fund transfers to the Palestine Liberation Organization and its government in the West Bank.
A second waiver, similar to the one signed by Obama in April and October 2009, allows the PLO to retain its office in the American capital city of Washington, DC.
According to a law passed in 1987, the PLO is barred from operating such an office, but it contains a clause that allows presidents to waive the requirement every six months. Waivers have been signed bi-annually since 1994 under former US President Bill Clinton.
The citation of national security concerns for the justification of the waivers is not new, and was used by former leaders as well, the Jewish Telegraph Agency noted in its report on the matter.
Nonetheless, the statement punctuates growing talk over the words of US General David Petraeus, who warned the US Senate last month that continuing to support Israel on its current path was harming US interests in the Middle East.
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