Palestinians denounced that the US decision to close Palestinian mission in Washington as "a declaration of war" on efforts to bring peace.

The US State Department announced Monday that it will shutter the Palestinians' mission in Washington, DC. 

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Palestinians had refused to engage with either the US or Israel and of rejecting outright a still unseen US peace plan. 

"The Washington mission (the Palestinian Liberation Organization office) had been allowed to remain open on a special waiver since last November in order to foster work on achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between Israelis and the Palestinians," Nauert said. 

But she said the PLO has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.  

It was the latest move by US President Donald Trump to push the Palestinians into talks, as his son-in-law Jared Kushner promises a master plan for peace. 

In recent weeks, the United States cut more than 200 million US dollars in bilateral aid to the Palestinians and canceled its support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. 

The Palestinians accused the Trump administration of being one-sided. They cut off contact with the US administration after Trump recognized the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December. 

The PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat decried Monday's announcement. 

"This is yet another affirmation of the Trump administration's policy to collectively punish the Palestinian people, including by cutting financial support for humanitarian services including health and education," he said.

Husam Zomlot, head of the PLO mission in Washington, called the closure of the office "bullying and blackmailing" and said the US government was "blindly executing Israel's 'wish list.'" 

Both Erekat and Zomlot pledged to push forward with Palestinian efforts at the ICC, where the chief prosecutor has already opened a preliminary probe into the allegations of rights abuses by the Israelis.  

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki visited the ICC in May and called on it to open an immediate investigation.  

The Palestinians have asked the ICC to investigate Israel on issues ranging from settlement building in the occupied West Bank to civilian casualties in the 2014 Gaza war, among others.

Nauert said the move by the Palestinians to have Israeli officials prosecuted at the ICC violates official conditions for the mission's existence. 

She also denied the US was retreating from peace efforts. "The United States continues to believe that direct negotiations between the two parties are the only way forward. This action should not be exploited by those who seek to act as spoilers to distract from the imperative of reaching a peace agreement," she said. 

While Washington demands the Palestinians open peace talks with Israel, the White House has yet to reveal any details of its long-awaited peace plan being authored by Kushner. 

Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton said Monday the "extraordinarily ambitious" plan is still being revised and the administration is seeking an ideal time to reveal it. "I don't think that the actions we have taken are at all inconsistent with our objective of peace between Israel and the Palestinians," he said. 

Bolton also threatened to sanction the ICC judges, as the court is "unaccountable" and "outright dangerous" to the US, Israel and other allies. "If the court comes after us, Israel or other US allies, we will not sit quietly," Bolton said. 

(Cover: Palestinian flag waves at Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, US, Nov. 19, 2017. /VCG Photo)