US Blocks Abbas From UN Assembly Again Over Palestinian Authority Dispute

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has once again been denied entry to the United States ahead of next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a source familiar with the case.

The US State Department announced the visa restrictions on Wednesday, saying members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, and officials of the Palestinian Authority, PA, would be denied visas.

Although Abbas was not specifically named in the State Department’s statement, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP that the Palestinian leader was included in the measure.

The department said the restrictions were imposed “as a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace.”

Washington said the PLO and PA had “once again, failed to live up to their commitments.”

“This includes initiating and supporting actions at international organizations that undermine and contradict prior commitments,” the State Department said.

The US government also accused the Palestinian organisations of “taking actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking to bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition, and continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and to glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks.”

The move mirrors the Trump administration’s decision last year to prevent Abbas from attending the UN General Assembly in person. The Palestinian leader, who has regularly addressed the gathering, was instead forced to speak by video.

US Decision Draws International Contrast

The latest visa decision puts Washington at odds with several countries, including France, which recognised a Palestinian state at the United Nations last year.

In all, 142 UN member states endorsed the move after a conference on a two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.

The development comes as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has intensified in the West Bank in recent months.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, while violence in the territory has increased since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that sparked the war in Gaza.

An AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data puts the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, at at least 1,109, including fighters and civilians.

The Hamas-led attack that triggered the conflict killed more than 1,200 people.

In Gaza, the Israeli military campaign that followed has killed more than 73,700 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority. The United Nations considers the ministry’s casualty figures reliable.

The international community has raised concerns over the continuing violence, while the United States has largely maintained its position that it opposes any annexation of Palestinian territory.

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