Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO's executive committee, said on Sunday that the US “has taken its attempts to pressure and blackmail the Palestinians to a new level,” as he lambasted Washington’s decision to banish Ambassador Husam Zomlot’s wife and their two underage children from the country.

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“As if the announcement that the US would close our office in Washington, DC was not enough, this vindictive action by the Trump administration is spiteful," he said, arguing that the move “goes against diplomatic norms.” 

“Children, spouses and family have nothing to do with political rows,” he added.

Said,7, and Alma,5, had to be pulled from the school in Washington D.C. last week and left the US to Palestine.

Washington’s move to kick the ambassador’s entire family from the US comes after it gave the PLO’s staff until October 13, to pack up and vacate the leased office in Washington D.C. The US State Department said that the decision, slammed by the PLO as “collective punishment,” was prompted by the Palestinian authorities’ appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation into Israeli officials’ alleged “crimes against humanity” such as forcible removals, demolition of Palestinian homes and unlawful killings of protesters.

READ MORE:‘Unjust court’: Bolton vows to use ‘any means’ to protect US ally Israel from ICC

US National Security Adviser John Bolton vowed to protect US’ “friend and ally” Israel from the court, threatening ICC judges retaliation.  “We will ban ICC judges and prosecutors from entering the United States, sanction their funds in the United States financial system, and, prosecute them in the United States criminal system,” Bolton said.

Apart from shutting down the PLO’s offices, the US government demanded employees close all bank accounts in the US.

Calling the expulsion of Zomlot’s family an “inhumane escalation on the part of the Trump administration,” the Palestinian official said Washington seeks to avenge for the Palestine’s refusal to enter into talks with the US officials to negotiate an “ultimate,” peace deal, touted by US President Donald Trump as “the deal of the century.”

The US plan has been in the works for over a year now, with State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert saying last week that Washington is still “not ready to unveil” the proposal.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas  has been averse to the idea of talking to Trump administration officials, insisting that any agreement must be achieved in a multilateral framework and guaranteed by the UN while rejecting the US role as the sole mediator in the lingering dispute.

READ MORE: US cuts to UN refugee agency an ‘attack on Palestinians & intl law’ – Palestinian FM

Abbas vowed not to support any peace plan crafted by the US since it “chose to be biased” by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and subsequently moving a US embassy there. The Palestinian authorities insist that any peace plan should be based on the UN resolutions and clearly and envisage East Jerusalem as a future Palestinian capital.

“Instead of working for a genuine peace, the U.S. administration is destroying the chances of peace and undermining its own credibility and standing on all level,” Ashrawi said.

The latest measure is in line with an ongoing Trump administration crackdown on Palestine and its people. Earlier this month, the US withdraw funding from the Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and in August, it redirected over $200 million in funds earmarked for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

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