The United States has blocked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from attending next month’s UN General Assembly in New York, after revoking his visa along with those of around 80 other Palestinian officials, the State Department has confirmed.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the Palestinian leadership of undermining peace efforts and pursuing “the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.”
Israel welcomed the decision, which is highly unusual. Washington is normally obliged to facilitate entry for officials from all countries attending UN headquarters.
The ban comes as France spearheads a push for international recognition of a Palestinian state at the General Assembly — a move the Trump administration firmly opposes.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, had earlier indicated that Abbas would head his delegation to New York, but US officials later confirmed the sweeping visa cancellations affecting members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Rubio said Palestinian representatives at the UN mission in New York could still attend under the UN Headquarters Agreement, which regulates access for foreign delegations.
However, it remains unclear whether Washington’s decision to revoke visas complies with that treaty, which stipulates that US authorities must not impede attendance “irrespective of the relations” between Washington and other governments.
Abbas’s office condemned the move, calling it “a clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, particularly since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.” It urged Washington to reverse the decision.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the US action, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to a two-state solution, arguing that recognising Palestine would reward “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism.”
The PLO has held observer status at the UN since 1974, allowing it to participate in debates but not vote. Abbas, who also heads the PLO, has faced growing challenges to his authority, with Hamas controlling Gaza and Israeli settlement expansion undermining the PA’s grip in the West Bank.
The controversy comes as the Gaza war grinds on. Israel launched a military campaign after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault on southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Since then, more than 63,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the organisation was in discussions with Washington, stressing that “all member states and permanent observers must be able to be represented — especially in light of the upcoming two-state solution meeting hosted by France and Saudi Arabia.”
France, the UK, Canada and Australia have all announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN meeting. While 147 of the UN’s 193 members already recognise Palestine, unresolved borders, continued Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, and calls to extend control over Gaza mean such recognition is unlikely to change realities on the ground immediately.
Source: BBC
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