Washington Blocks Palestinian Officials from Attending UN General Assembly
US denies visas to Palestinian officials for UN General Assembly, blocking their attendance. The move aligns with Israel's stance and contrasts with France's planned recognition of Palestine.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The United States announced on Friday that it will not grant visas to officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York, a move that coincides with France’s declared intention to formally recognize the State of Palestine.
The decision marks an unusual and highly charged step that underscores the Trump administration’s growing alignment with Israel’s position. Israel has consistently rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state and has sought to exclude the Palestinian Authority from playing any future political role in Gaza.
In a statement released by the US State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the administration had revoked or denied entry visas to members of both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority. The announcement, issued on August 29, emphasized that the decision was rooted in US law and in Washington’s determination to hold Palestinian leadership accountable for what it described as repeated failures to meet commitments and for actions undermining prospects for peace.
“The Trump Administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable,” the statement read. It further asserted that before the Palestinian leadership can be considered a legitimate partner for peace, it must “consistently repudiate terrorism—including the October 7 massacre—and end incitement to terrorism in education.”
The administration also demanded that the PA abandon its international legal initiatives, including appeals to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as well as its efforts to secure unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood. According to Washington, such measures had “materially contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks.”
While visas for Palestinian officials were denied, the US clarified that waivers will still apply to the Palestinian mission at the United Nations in accordance with the UN Headquarters Agreement.
The timing of the US decision is seen as particularly significant, coming just weeks before France is expected to recognize the State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly. Paris’s initiative has been welcomed by the Palestinian leadership but fiercely opposed by Israel, which views such recognition as an attempt to bypass direct negotiations.
The US statement concluded by leaving a door open for future re-engagement, but only if the Palestinian leadership takes what Washington described as “concrete steps to return to a constructive path of compromise and peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel.”
