US to deny visas to Palestinian officials for UN summit on statehood
WASHINGTON: The United States said on Friday (Aug 29) it will deny visas to members of the Palestinian Authority to attend next month’s United Nations General Assembly, where France is leading a push to recognise a Palestinian state.
The move further aligns President Donald Trump’s administration with Israel, which rejects a Palestinian state and has sought to equate the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority with Hamas in Gaza.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly,” the State Department said.
“The Trump administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” it added.
The statement accused Palestinian leaders of “lawfare” by pursuing cases against Israel at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, and urged them to drop “efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state”.
ISRAEL BACKS MOVE
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar thanked Washington “for this bold step and for standing by Israel once again”.
It was not immediately clear if the visa order applies to all Palestinian officials. Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas had been scheduled to attend the summit, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it was “important” for all states and observers, including the Palestinians, to be represented. “We obviously hope that this will be resolved,” he told reporters.
FRENCH-LED PUSH
French President Emmanuel Macron has called a special summit on Sep 22, the day before the General Assembly opens, where Paris will formally recognise a Palestinian state.
Since his announcement, Canada and Australia have also said they will recognise Palestine, while Britain pledged to do so unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza.
Macron has argued that nearly two years of Israeli military operations in Gaza, following Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attack, make it urgent to restart a peace process.
BREAK WITH NORMS
Under an agreement as UN host, the US is not supposed to refuse visas to officials attending meetings in New York. The State Department insisted it was complying by allowing the Palestinian mission to remain open.
In 1988, the General Assembly convened in Geneva after the US refused entry to PLO leader Yasser Arafat. In 2013, the US denied a visa to Sudan’s then president Omar al-Bashir, who faced an ICC warrant.
Trump will attend the General Assembly and deliver one of the first speeches. But his administration has cut ties with several UN bodies, moving to pull out of the World Health Organization and climate pact, and sanctioning ICC judges over an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
