Trump Administration blocks visas of Palestinian officials ahead of UN General Assembly

The US State Department has revoked the visas of several Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) officials in advance of the UN General Assembly. This decision comes as part of the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to impose visa restrictions on Palestinian figures.

Washington: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of a number of Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organisation officials ahead of next month’s annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, where the groups previously have been represented.

The State Department said in a statement Friday that Rubio also had ordered some new visa applications from Palestinian officials be denied.

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The move is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to target Palestinians with visa restrictions and comes as the Israeli military declared Gaza’s largest city a combat zone. The State Department also suspended a programme that had allowed injured Palestinian children from Gaza to come to the US for medical treatment after a social media outcry by some conservatives.

The State Department didn’t specify how many visas had been revoked or how many applications had been denied. The department did not immediately respond to a request for more specifics.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would be affected.

The agency’s statement did say that representatives assigned to the Palestinian Authority mission at the United Nations would be granted waivers under the US host country agreement with the UN so they can continue their New York-based operations.

“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 statement said. “Before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism — including the October 7 massacre — and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO.”

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters Friday that he had just learned of Rubio’s decision and was assessing its impact.

“We will see exactly what it means and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly,” he said.

Mansour said Abbas was leading the delegation to next month’s UN meetings and was expected to address the General Assembly — as he has done for many years. He also was expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on Sept 22 about a two-state solution, which calls for Israel living side-by-side with an independent Palestine.