Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been blocked from attending the upcoming UN General Assembly session in New York after the United States revoked his visa along with those of about 80 other Palestinian officials, the US State Department confirmed.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Abbas and other Palestinian leaders of “undermining peace efforts” and pursuing “the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.” The decision, which has been welcomed by Israel, marks an unusual move, as the US is typically expected to facilitate travel for foreign officials attending UN meetings under the UN Headquarters Agreement.
The ban comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions as France leads international efforts to push for the recognition of a Palestinian state at the session, a move strongly opposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, had previously stated that Abbas would attend the high-level session as head of the Palestinian delegation. However, a US State Department official later clarified that both members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) would be affected by the visa denials and revocations.
Rubio noted that Palestinian representatives currently stationed at the UN mission in New York would still be allowed to attend meetings in line with the UN Headquarters Agreement, which regulates UN operations in the US. However, it remains unclear whether the sweeping visa bans are consistent with that agreement, which stipulates that the US should not impede the participation of foreign officials “irrespective of the relations” between their governments and Washington.
Abbas’ office expressed shock at the decision, describing it as a clear violation of international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, stressing that “the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.” It urged the US government to reverse its decision.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed Washington’s stance, calling it a justified response to Palestinian diplomatic efforts.
Meanwhile, divisions among Palestinian factions remain deep, with Hamas controlling the Gaza Strip while Abbas’ Fatah-led PA struggles to maintain authority in the West Bank amid the continued expansion of Jewish settlements and internal political challenges. Abbas also leads the PLO, which was recognised by the UN in 1974 as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” and granted observer status at the General Assembly.
In 2012, the General Assembly upgraded Palestine’s status to that of a non-member permanent observer state. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently rejected the two-state solution, calling the recognition of a Palestinian state a reward for “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism.”
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. Since then, over 63,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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