Palestine slams passage of bill by American Congress to ban entry of PLO members to US

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - A top Palestinian official slammed the passage of a bill Thursday by the American Congress to ban the entry of all members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Hussein Al-Sheikh, Secretary of the PLO's Executive Committee, described the bill as "a dangerous decision towards the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."

He said the decision harms the rights of Palestinians and "goes beyond the international position that recognizes these rights and recognizes the organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."

Al-Sheikh urged the US administration to provide a response and clarification on the bill.

The US House of Representatives approved the bill that prohibits all members of the PLO, including members of Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, from entering the US.

Previously, only PLO officials could not enter the states but the current bill extends the ban to all members.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar