US Bars Abbas from UN as Allies Move to Back Palestine

File photo: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

The United States announced Friday that it will bar Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from traveling to New York next month for a United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies plan to recognize Palestine as a state.

A State Department official said Abbas, along with about 80 other Palestinians, will be affected by the decision to deny or revoke visas for members of both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA).

Abbas had been scheduled to attend the annual high-level UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in Manhattan, as well as a summit hosted by France and Saudi Arabia. Britain, France, Australia and Canada are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the event.

The Palestinian president’s office said it was “astonished” by Washington’s decision, calling it a violation of the 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” which generally obliges the US to grant access to foreign diplomats traveling to the UN.

While the US argues it can deny visas on grounds of security, extremism or foreign policy, Palestinian officials dismissed the justification. They said decades of US-brokered peace efforts have failed to end Israeli occupation or secure Palestinian independence.

“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 State Department said.

The restrictions will not apply to the PA’s permanent mission to the UN in New York.

Recognition push

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the organization will raise the issue with Washington “in line with the UN Headquarters agreement.”

The move recalls a similar US decision in 1988, when PLO leader Yasser Arafat was denied a visa. The UN General Assembly relocated that year’s session to Geneva so he could address world leaders.

The State Department said the PA and PLO must “consistently repudiate terrorism,” including the deadly Hamas attack of October 2023 that triggered Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In June, Abbas wrote to French President Emmanuel Macron condemning the Hamas assault and calling for the release of hostages.

Israel welcomed the US decision. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the move underscored Washington’s alignment with Israel against unilateral recognition of Palestine.

At least 147 of the UN’s 193 member states already recognize Palestine, which currently holds observer status at the world body, similar to the Holy See (Vatican).

Western powers pledging recognition at the UN next month have cited frustration with Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands and caused widespread hunger, as well as continued settlement expansion in the West Bank, regarded as the heartland of a future Palestinian state.

The Palestinians have long sought statehood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as their capital. The US maintains that Palestinian statehood can only result from direct negotiations with Israel.