RAMALLAH, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) on Wednesday said that it refused an invitation from U.S. Middle East Envoy Jason Greenblatt for Palestinian journalists to visit the White House and meet U.S. officials.
The PJS said in an emailed press statement that the invitation is another "failed and desperate attempt" by the U.S. administration to bypass the "legitimate Palestinian leadership."
"The U.S. administration said that it will talk to the Palestinian people through the media," the statement said.
"Therefore, it declares its rejection, denounces this dubious invitation and calls on all journalists to reject the invitation and stick to the positon of the syndicate and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)," it added.
The syndicate said that the invitation reflects the crisis that the U.S. administration is living after the "failure" of the U.S.-led economic workshop held in June in Bahrain's Manama.
The Palestinian Authority declared the boycott of the U.S. government after it recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017 and moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in May 2018.
The United States has taken several steps against Palestinians, including shutting down the PLO office in Washington and stopping funding for the only UN agency providing support to the Palestinian refugees.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly called for an international multilateral mechanism to oversee the peace process.
