US DENIES PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT ABBAS VISA TO ATTEND UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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AGENCY REPORT
The United States has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas an entry visa to attend next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The US State Department, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said it would deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and officials of the Palestinian Authority.
The department said the decision was based on what it described as the organisations’ failure to undertake reforms and their activities that undermine prospects for peace.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed that the measure also applies to Abbas, who has regularly attended the annual UN General Assembly.
“The PLO and PA have once again failed to live up to their commitments,” the State Department said.
Washington accused the organisations of initiating and supporting actions at international bodies that it said contradicted their previous commitments to the United States.
The State Department also accused the PLO and PA of seeking to “internationalise” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through proceedings at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, pursuing unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood and continuing to pay stipends to people it described as terrorists.
The US further accused the organisations of glorifying terrorism in public statements and school textbooks.
The Trump administration took a similar action last year, preventing Abbas from travelling to the United States for the UN General Assembly and forcing him to address the gathering by video.
The latest decision has placed Washington at odds with several countries, including France, which recognised a Palestinian state at the United Nations last year.
A total of 142 UN member states backed the recognition following a conference on a two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.
The decision comes amid heightened violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have increased in recent months.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, while violence in the territory has intensified since the October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, at least 1,109 Palestinians, including fighters and civilians, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank since October 7, 2023.
The Hamas-led attack on Israel killed more than 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,700 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authorities. The figures are considered reliable by the United Nations, although they do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The international community has expressed concern over the continuing violence, while Washington has said it opposes any annexation of Palestinian territory.
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