The United States said on Friday it would not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York next month for a United Nations gathering of world leaders, with several U.S. allies poised to recognize Palestine as a state. The decision would also affect about 80 other Palestinians who hold visas from the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.
Abbas’s office said it was astonished by the visa decision and asserted it violated the U.N. headquarters agreement. Under the 1947 agreement, the U.S. is generally obliged to allow foreign diplomats access to the U.N. in New York, though Washington has long maintained it can deny visas for security, extremism, and foreign policy reasons.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Abbas, urged Washington to reconsider, saying the move contradicts international law and the U.N. Headquarters Agreement, which he argued prohibits blocking access to any delegation. Several European foreign ministers arriving for EU meetings in Copenhagen also criticized the decision. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the U.N. General Assembly “cannot be subject to any restrictions on access,” while Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris urged a strong EU protest.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had spoken with Abbas to express Madrid’s support and called the visa decision unjust, noting Palestine’s right to make its voice heard at the United Nations and other international forums.
The State Department defended its action, reiterating longstanding U.S. and Israeli allegations that the Palestinian Authority and the PLO have not repudiated extremism and have pressed for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Palestinian officials reject those charges, arguing that decades of U.S.-mediated talks have failed to end Israeli occupation or secure an independent Palestinian state. The department said the decision was about holding the PLO and PA accountable for not meeting their commitments and for undermining peace prospects. It added that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the U.N., which is based in New York, would not be included in the restrictions.
The U.N. said it would discuss the visa issue with the State Department. In a historical note, the United States had previously refused to issue a visa to PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 1988, prompting the General Assembly to hold a meeting in Geneva that year so he could address it.
Washington also noted that Abbas had previously condemned the Hamas attack in October 2023 and urged hostage releases, and Israel’s foreign minister welcomed the visa decision. Israel and the United States have grown uneasy with several Western allies who have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. next month, a move seen by some as a response to the Gaza crisis and contentious Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.
As context, about 147 of the 193 U.N. member states already recognize a Palestinian state, and the Palestinians hold observer status at the U.N., similar to the Holy See. The Palestinians have long sought a state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The U.S. has said a Palestinian state can only be established through direct negotiations.
Summary and outlook:
– The visa denial sharpens tensions ahead of the U.N. General Assembly gathering, complicating Abbas’s planned participation and signaling ongoing U.S. difficulty reconciling security policy with calls for Palestinian state recognition.
– Reactions from Europe and allies underscore a widening divide over how to address Palestinian statehood amid a broader, volatile Middle East crisis.
– The incident tests U.N. headquarters logistics and could influence how alliance members navigate future recognitions and diplomacy around the Palestinian question.
– Positive take: The episode may spur renewed diplomatic engagement and a clarifying of conditions around recognition, potentially encouraging a return to negotiations toward a two-state solution.
Additional value:
– The incident highlights the delicate balance between national security considerations and international diplomatic norms at the United Nations, as well as the growing prominence of Palestinian statehood discussions on the world stage.
– Observers may watch for how the U.N. and member states respond in the coming weeks, including any formal statements or diplomatic outreach from the U.N. and affected governments.
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