A major and contentious step ahead of the international summit when several nations are anticipated to recognize a Palestinian state is the United States’ refusal to provide Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa for next month’s UN General Assembly.
On Friday, the State Department declared that it was “denying and revoking visas” to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
“Abbas is affected by this action along with approximately 80 other PA officials,” a State Department official acknowledged.
The notification on Friday stated that the UN Mission of the Palestinian Authority “will receive waivers per the UN Headquarters Agreement.”
However, since Palestine is recognized by the UN as a non-member observer state, it would seem that denying Abbas a visa would be a breach of that agreement.
As the war in Gaza rages on and some important allies get ready to recognize a Palestinian state, the policy will also significantly restrict the number of Palestinian leaders who can attend the annual global summit.
“Deep regret and astonishment at the US State Department’s decision not to grant visas to the Palestinian delegation participating in the UN General Assembly meetings next September,” the Palestinian presidency said in a statement on Friday. The US was urged to “reconsider and reverse its decision” in the statement.
“We will see exactly what it means and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly,” said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, in response to a question regarding the statement on Friday.
The PA and the PLO were charged by the State Department in the statement announcing the action with actions that “materially contributed to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks and to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages.”
State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott stated on X that the PA and PLO must “completely reject terrorism and stop counterproductively pursuing the unilateral recognition of a hypothetical state before we take them seriously as partners in peace.”
The US move was denounced as “discriminatory” by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which has 57 member states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
“Reconsider this discriminatory decision, which contradicts international law and the Headquarters Agreement it signed, and to fulfill its obligations under this agreement and respect the role of the United Nations as a unifying umbrella for all states and their official representatives,” the US was urged to do in a statement issued on Friday.
According to a number of analysts, denying Palestinian officials permits to attend the important meeting in New York does not further diplomatic efforts to bring about a truce in Gaza.
The action was applauded by Israeli leaders, including UN Ambassador Danny Danon and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
The State Department issued restrictions in July that would prevent unidentified PA and PLO leaders from being granted visas to the United States.
The action also seems to be an attempt to punish individuals who are investigating alleged crimes perpetrated by Israel in international tribunals.
“The PA must also end its attempts to bypass negotiations through international lawfare campaigns, including appeals to the ICC and ICJ, and efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state,” Friday’s statement said.
Additional developments have been incorporated into this headline and report.
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