Listen to this articleDear 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated using AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve results. The Trump administration has denied visas to a high-level Palestinian delegation to attend an annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations for the second year in a row. The US State Department said on Wednesday that Palestinian officials, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, had not fulfilled their commitments under previous agreements to pursue peace with Israel. In a statement, the department said the Palestinian Authority had continued to pursue legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court (ICC) and continued to pay stipends to the families of prisoners convicted of attacks against Israelis. He also mentioned officials linked to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). “As a consequence of its lack of reforms, contrary to its commitments to the United States, and its ongoing activities that undermine prospects for peace, the United States will expand sanctions denying visas to PLO members and Palestinian Authority officials” in accordance with existing US law, the department said. Palestinians banned in 2025 as countries that recognized statehood: US blocks Palestinian leaders’ visas to UN General Assembly. The United States says it will not allow Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian leaders into the country for the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, drawing criticism from world leaders. Canada and several other countries have said they are prepared to recognize Palestinian statehood at the September meeting. Palestinian officials say decades of US-brokered talks have failed to end the Israeli occupation and secure an independent Palestinian state. Under a 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the United States is generally required to “allow foreign diplomats access to the UN in New York.” However, Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons. The move is the latest by the Trump administration to restrict visas and further signals the close US alliance with Israel, which has faced international isolation for its war in Gaza following the deadly Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. A fragile US-brokered ceasefire went into effect in October, but Israel has continued to carry out attacks in the Palestinian territory. It also comes as the Trump administration has launched a campaign to dismantle the ICC, accusing it of trying to unfairly prosecute US and Israeli soldiers for alleged crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza. Israel and the United States are not members of the global court. Domestically, the Trump administration has sought to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters, threatened to freeze funding to universities over the protests, and imposed immigration controls on social media. The Palestinian Authority, which represents the Palestinian people at the United Nations, where the delegation is officially known as the State of Palestine, is not a full member and does not have a vote in the General Assembly. They are an observer state that has the same status as the Vatican. Despite the visa denials, the Palestinians will continue to be represented at next week’s high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly by their diplomats who are already accredited to the United Nations. Last year, Abbas appeared on video.
