Summary
- US
revoked visas of Palestinian Authority and PLO officials. - Action
precedes the UN General Assembly meeting in September 2025. - New
visa applications for Palestinian officials have also been denied. - The US
cites national security and lack of Palestinian commitments to peace.
Palestinian officials hoping to attend the 80th UNGA session
in New York City, which begins on September 9, 2025, will have their visas
denied or revoked, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday.
“The Trump Administration has been clear: 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 announcement read.
It’s unclear if the limitations apply to PA President
Mahmoud Abbas, who is scheduled to attend the UNGA session and give a speech.
As part of the Oslo Accords peace deal between Israel and
the PLO, the PA has been in charge of regulating parts of the occupied West
Bank since 1994. Internationally acknowledged as the official representative of
the Palestinian people in the diaspora and in the Palestinian territories, the
PLO is an umbrella political coalition.
Referring to the attack on southern Israel on October 7th,
2023, the Trump administration stated Friday that it calls on the PLO and PA to
“unequivocally condemn terrorism” and to stop “incitement to
terrorism in education,” according to a US State Department press release.
On Friday, with regard to the US State Department’s decision
to refuse to issue visas to the Palestinian delegation expected to attend the
United Nations General Assembly in New York City next month, the Palestinian
Authority expressed “deep regret and surprise”.
The host nation hosting the UN’s headquarters permits all
heads of state to speak at the yearly assembly as part of the agreement.
Ahead of a UN summit on a two-state solution, Abbas wrote to
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron in
June of this year to denounce the attacks on Israel.
According to Rubio’s announcement, the PA must stop attempts
“to circumvent negotiations through international lawfare campaigns,”
such as requesting unilateral recognition of a hypothetical Palestinian state
and filing appeals with the International Criminal Court and International
Court of Justice. According to the Trump administration, these two acts
“materially contributed to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks, and
to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages.”
In 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for former Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Several nations, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and
Malta, followed suit when France declared in July that it would formally
recognize a Palestinian state at the UNGA in September.
The United States initially declared on July 31 that it
would impose sanctions and refuse visas to PA leaders and PLO members.
How do UN Headquarters Agreement waivers allow PA mission
staff to operate in New York?
As the hosting country, the U.S. is obliged to allow mission
representatives from member states and recognized observer States, including
their official mission personnel, access to and movement within the headquarters
district (the area of it being New York City).
The agreement also refers to the facilitation of visas and
entry for the official UN mission and their families so that they could perform
effectively in their diplomatic capacity.
The staff of the PA mission at the UN, receive, as part of
their mission capacity, waiver of a visa required under the general U.S.
immigration visa restrictions, so the representatives of the PA, can maintain a
continuous presence at the UN to perform their work and participate in meetings
of the UN body.
