US Denies Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas Visa for UN General Assembly
The United States has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas an entry visa to attend next week’s UN General Assembly in New York, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by AFP on Wednesday.
In a statement that didn’t name Abbas directly, the State Department said it would deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority officials, citing their failure to reform in keeping with prior commitments to the United States and what it described as ongoing activities undermining prospects for peace. A source confirmed to AFP that Abbas falls under the measure. The Trump administration took the same step last year, forcing Abbas, typically a regular presence at the General Assembly, to address the gathering by video instead.
The State Department said the PLO and Palestinian Authority had once again failed to live up to their commitments, pointing specifically to actions at international bodies it said contradict earlier pledges, including efforts to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, pursuing unilateral recognition rather than negotiations, and continuing to pay stipends tied to acts the US characterizes as terrorism. The Palestinian Authority pushed back, condemning the visa denial as what it called an unjustified measure.
The decision sets Washington apart from a growing number of countries, including France, that formally recognized a Palestinian state last year. A total of 142 UN member states backed that recognition following a conference on a two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.
The visa denial comes amid a documented rise in violence involving Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in recent months. According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data, at least 1,109 Palestinians, including both fighters and civilians, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank since October 2023. Separately, Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas but whose figures the United Nations considers reliable, reports that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,700 people. While the international community has voiced concern over the violence, the United States has largely avoided commenting directly, stating only that it opposes any annexation of Palestinian territory.
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