US extends visa ban on Palestinian officials before UN General Assembly

What the report says

The US State Department said it will extend visa sanctions on officials of the Palestinian Authority and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, blocking Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from traveling to New York for next week’s United Nations General Assembly. Al Jazeera reported that Abbas is barred for the second year in a row, and that the move affects PA and PLO figures ahead of the annual UN meeting in New York.

According to the State Department statement cited by Al Jazeera, the administration said the Palestinian side had failed to make reforms and had taken steps that it считает undermine peace prospects. The department also accused Palestinian leaders of pursuing international recognition for statehood outside direct negotiations, bringing disputes with Israel to international courts, and making payments to people the US and Israel describe as convicted attackers and their families.

Al Jazeera reported that the Palestinian mission to the UN will still be allowed to operate under a waiver in the UN Headquarters Agreement, so regular staff can continue working. Abbas had been expected to use the assembly to call for wider recognition of Palestinian statehood, renewed support for a two-state solution, and attention to the war in Gaza and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

The report also noted criticism of the earlier ban from Palestinian officials and UN human rights experts, who argued that restricting entry for UN-invited Palestinian representatives conflicts with the US’s obligations as host country.