United States to Reject Visa Applications from Palestinian Officials Before UN Assembly

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The United States has said it would bar entry to some Palestinian officials seeking to attend next month’s United Nations General Assembly in New York.

It comes after several US allies pledged to recognise a Palestinian state during the summit despite US and Israeli objections.

The State Department said it was denying and revoking visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority, without naming the officials targeted.

The PA currently has no authority in Gaza and its administrative centre is based in Ramallah City in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the department reiterated longstanding US and Israeli allegations that the PA and PLO had failed to “repudiate terrorism” while pushing for “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state.

Palestinian officials reject such allegations and say that decades of US-mediated talks have failed to end Israeli occupation and secure an independent Palestinian state.

“(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,” the department said.

The recognition pledges from Western powers reflect frustration with Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people. It also reflects anger with Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank, viewed as the heartland of a potential Palestinian state.

The United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned the “worst-case famine scenario” is unfolding on a population of 2.1 million.

Earlier this month, the IPC determined that famine was occurring in Gaza City and was likely to spread to other parts of Gaza. The group said 514,000 people are experiencing famine, with the number expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.

Israel describes widespread hunger documented by aid agencies as “a Hamas-orchestrated starvation campaign”, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating: “There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza.”

In a statement to SBS News earlier this month, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said: “The IDF forcefully rejects the allegation of deliberate starvation of the civilian population.”

Mahmoud Abbas responds

PA President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to travel to New York for the annual meeting at the UN’s headquarters in Manhattan. It was unclear if Abbas was included in the restrictions.

Abbas’ office said it was astonished by the visa decision and argued it violated the UN’s “headquarters agreement,” under which the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. His office did not say whether his visa was revoked or denied.

Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism or foreign policy reasons. The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.

Stephane Dujarric, the UN’s spokesperson, said the UN would discuss the visa issue with the State Department, “in line with UN Headquarters agreement between the UN and the US”.

The US also refused to issue a visa to PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 1988. The UN General Assembly met that year in Geneva instead of New York so he could address it.

The State Department said it was demanding that the PA and PLO “consistently repudiate terrorism,” including the deadly October 2023 Hamas attack.

In June, Abbas, the Palestinian president, wrote a letter to France’s president in which he condemned the Hamas attack and called on hostages taken by the militant group to be released.

A Palestinian state is recognised by 147 of the 193 UN member states.

The US, Israel’s most powerful and influential ally, has said a Palestinian state can only be established through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.