Since the United States established ties with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during the 1990s, the United States has sought to help facilitate a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, counter Palestinian terrorist groups, and provide certain types of assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. After the signing of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles in 1993, Congress has committed more than $5 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. Palestinian National Identity and Aspirations

The Palestinians are Arabs who live in the geographical area comprising present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, or who have historical and cultural ties to that area. In Gaza, Hamas maintains de facto control. U.S.-Palestinian Tensions

The Trump Administration's relations with the PLO are tense. After President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017 and announced that the U.S. embassy would move there from Tel Aviv, PLO Chairman and PA President Abbas broke off high-level political contacts with the United States. Changes to Diplomatic Facilities

During 2018, the Trump Administration has instituted changes affecting both the PLO's representative office in the United States and the U.S. diplomatic facility in Jerusalem with responsibility for Palestinian relations. Merger: U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem into U.S. Embassy to Israel

On October 18, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. consulate general in Jerusalem and the U.S. embassy to Israel would merge into a single diplomatic mission. As Congress considers legislative options—including on annual appropriations for the Palestinians—and exercises oversight over Israeli-Palestinian developments, Members may consider a number of issues, including the following:
various aspects of U.S.-Palestinian relations; the status of Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy and Palestinian international initiatives; humanitarian and economic development concerns, especially in Gaza; countering terrorism from Hamas and other groups, including rocket attacks from Gaza that have escalated during fall 2018; the surrounding region's effects on the West Bank and Gaza, and vice versa; and Palestinian domestic leadership and civil society. Then, in October, Sinwar gave a lengthy interview in which he stated a desire for a cease-fire with Israel (which Egypt is trying to broker) in exchange for an end to the "siege" (access restrictions on Gaza) currently in place. According to a Gazan journalist, Hamas may consider a long-term cease-fire with Israel to be a better option than losing its control over Gaza—either via a large-scale conflict with Israel or a national unity agreement with the Abbas-led PA—and the domestic prestige that goes with it. They appear to depend on Hamas's willingness to cede control of security in Gaza to the PA. PA President Abbas has insisted that he will not accept a situation where PA control is undermined by Hamas's militia. Israel occupies the West Bank and effectively annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War; and it maintains significant control over administrative borders, resources, and trade in both the West Bank and Gaza. In fall 2011, the Palestinians obtained membership in the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 2016, the Palestinians acceded to the U.N. International Criminal Court Actions97

The Palestinians have taken various actions relating to the ICC since late 2014:
In January 2015, Palestinian leaders deposited an instrument of accession for the "State of Palestine" to become party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, after declaring acceptance in December 2014 of ICC jurisdiction over crimes allegedly "committed in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, since June 13, 2014." International Court of Justice Suit over U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem

In September 2018, the PLO filed suit to have the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order the United States to remove its embassy from Jerusalem. While the Palestinian Authority (PA) maintains a measure of self-rule over various areas of the West Bank, as well as a legal claim to self-rule over Gaza despite Hamas's security presence, the PLO remains the representative of the Palestinian people to Israel and other international actors. All of these factions have minor political support relative to Fatah and Hamas.
The Palestinians are an Arab people whose origins are in present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Congress pays close attention—through legislation and oversight—to the Palestinians' ongoing conflict with Israel.
The current structure of Palestinian governing entities dates to 1994. In that year, Israel agreed with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to permit a Palestinian Authority (PA) to exercise limited rule over Gaza and specified areas of the West Bank, subject to overarching Israeli military administration that dates back to the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
After the PA's establishment, U.S. policy toward the Palestinians focused on encouraging a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, countering Palestinian terrorist groups, and aiding Palestinian goals on governance and economic development. Since then, Congress has committed more than $5 billion in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, who rely heavily on external donor assistance.
Under the Trump Administration, U.S. policy toward the Palestinians has shifted. In 2018, the Administration significantly cut U.S. funding for the Palestinians, closed the PLO's representative office in Washington, DC, and merged the U.S. consulate general in Jerusalem (which had dealt independently with the Palestinians for decades) into a single diplomatic mission with the U.S. embassy to Israel.
Some of these moves relate to an increase in U.S.-Palestinian tensions stemming from the Administration's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital (in December 2017) and transfer of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (in May 2018). In response to the Administration's policy changes on Jerusalem, PLO Chairman and PA President Mahmoud Abbas has broken off high-level political contacts with the Administration, and the Administration reportedly is seeking leverage to persuade Abbas to renew bilateral discussions. Meanwhile, the PLO has filed suit in 2018 to have the International Court of Justice order the United States to remove its embassy from Jerusalem.
Even before tensions increased under the Trump Administration, lack of progress toward peace with Israel had led the PLO to advocate the Palestinian cause in international fora. The Palestinians obtained membership in the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2011, and a 2012 resolution in the U.N. General Assembly identified "Palestine" as a "non-member state." Palestinians also have applied international legal pressure on Israel. The Palestinians acceded to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in April 2015, and the ICC could conceivably investigate Israeli, Palestinian, or other individuals for alleged crimes committed in the West Bank and Gaza.
Conducting relations with the Palestinians has presented challenges for several Administrations and Congresses. The United States has historically sought to bolster PA President Abbas vis-à-vis Hamas (a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization supported in part by Iran). Since 2007, Hamas has had de facto control over Gaza. The Abbas-led PA still exercises limited self-rule over specified areas of the West Bank. Given Abbas's age (he was born in 1935) and questions regarding his health, observers speculate about who will succeed him and about the implications for the current situation of divided rule in the West Bank and Gaza.
Gaza also presents a dilemma. Severe humanitarian and economic problems persist there, and it is a small, population-dense territory that has been the site of three major conflicts between Palestinian militants and Israel over the past decade (2008-2009, 2012, and 2014). Israel and Egypt maintain tight control over access to and from Gaza. They seem reluctant to significantly open Gaza's borders because of concerns about bolstering Hamas. Fatah and Hamas have agreed in principle numerous times to reinstate unified PA rule over the West Bank and Gaza, but Abbas has maintained that he will not accept responsibility in Gaza if Hamas's militia remains intact. Hamas and other Palestinian militants have turned to a range of violent actions, seeking an arrangement in which Israel eases restrictions on access to and from Gaza in exchange for a long-term cease-fire. Hamas provocations and Israeli military operations both carry a risk of escalating into wider conflict, even if both sides would prefer to avoid that outcome.