US blocks Abbas, 80 Palestinian officials from UN meeting
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the visa revocations were necessary because Palestinian officials were undermining peace efforts and seeking "the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be barred from attending next month’s United Nations General Assembly session in New York after the US revoked visas for him and about 80 other Palestinian officials, the State Department confirmed.
The move, which Israel has welcomed, comes as France and other nations push for international recognition of a Palestinian state—a move opposed by the US.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the visa revocations were necessary because Palestinian officials were undermining peace efforts and seeking "the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state."
Rubio added that Palestinian representatives at the UN mission in New York could still attend meetings under the UN Headquarters Agreement, which governs foreign officials’ access to UN operations.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, had previously said Abbas would attend as head of his delegation.
Abbas’ office condemned the decision, calling it “astonishing” and stating it "stands in clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, particularly since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations." The office urged the US to reverse the ban.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar supported the US decision. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea of a two-state solution, arguing that recognising a Palestinian state would reward "Hamas's monstrous terrorism."
The Israeli military launched operations in Gaza following a Hamas attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and left 251 hostages.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reports more than 63,000 deaths since then.
Rubio stated, "Before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism - including the October 7 massacre - and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO." He added that Palestinian authorities must stop pursuing international legal cases against Israel to bypass negotiations.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the organisation would discuss the issue with the US State Department and hoped it could be resolved.
"It is important that all member states, permanent observers, be able to be represented, especially I think in this case with the, as we know, the upcoming two-state solution meeting that France and Saudi Arabia will host at the beginning of the GA," he said.
Several countries, including France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, have announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the General Assembly next month.
Currently, 147 of the UN’s 193 member states recognise Palestine. However, without defined borders, and with Israeli settlers controlling large parts of the West Bank and calls to expand into Gaza, recognition may not immediately change conditions on the ground.
