diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 266d43f500..dd77dce643 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -156,7 +156,6 @@ distcleancheck_listfiles = \
   find -type f -exec sh -c 'test -f ${srcdir}/{} || echo {}' ';'
 
 dist-hook: po/POTFILES.in
-	rm -f $(distdir)/po/*.gmo
 
 distcheck-hook:
 	@e=''; \