US will deny visas to top Palestinian leaders before UN meeting

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organization “must consistently repudiate terrorism — including the October 7 massacre.” He also said Palestinian leaders must stop efforts “to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.”

By Eric Martin

The Trump administration said it will deny visas to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other Palestinian officials in a move that will likely make it impossible for them to attend next month’s meeting of the UN General Assembly.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation “must consistently repudiate terrorism — including the October 7 massacre.” He also said Palestinian leaders must stop efforts “to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.”

A State Department official confirmed that Abbas and the other officials were among those who would be denied a visa. The Associated Press reported earlier that Abbas and the other officials would not get visas.

That move breaks with decades of precedent in which the US has agreed to grant visas to government officials, including Abbas and other Palestinian leaders, to attend the annual UN gathering and deliver speeches from the General Assembly’s iconic green-marble rostrum. Abbas was expected to deliver remarks during the event, which begins on Sept. 23.

The UN Headquarters agreement that established New York as the home base of the world body requires the US to grant visas to officials attending events there. The US has typically done so, even for top officials from adversarial nations such as Iran who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get a visa.

US frustration with Palestinian officials has been mounting as Israel continues its military offensive in Gaza against Hamas, which has been labeled a terrorist group.

In June, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on members of the PA “for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace.” That was seen as a counter to moves from European countries toward recognizing a Palestinian state.

Countries including France, Canada and the UK have signaled they will announce their recognition of a Palestinian state during next month’s gathering. The move is intended in part to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end his military’s campaign against Hamas, which has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel rules out Palestinian statehood and, backed by the US, has accused those countries of rewarding Hamas for the October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and triggered the Gaza war.

President Donald Trump earlier this week called for an end “soon” to the conflict, but has remained a staunch backer of Netanyahu. On Monday, he said there was a “very serious diplomatic push” to end the war though he didn’t say what that was.