US announces it will deny visa to Palestinian Authority president and other officials ahead of UN General Assembly

CNN The United States is denying a visa to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for next month s UN General Assembly a key and controversial move ahead of the global summit where multiple countries are expected to recognize a Palestinian state The State Department informed Friday it is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestinian Authority PA Palestine Liberation Organization PLO A State Department official authenticated that Abbas is affected by this action along with approximately other PA personnel According to Friday s announcement the Palestinian Authority s Mission to the UN will receive waivers per the UN Headquarters Agreement However refusing Abbas a visa would appear to violate that agreement as the United Nations recognizes Palestine as a non-member observer state The program will also severely limit the presence of Palestinian personnel at the annual global summit as the war in Gaza continues and a number of key allies prepare to recognize a Palestinian state In a declaration Friday the Palestinian presidency expressed deep regret and astonishment at the US State Department s decision not to grant visas to the Palestinian delegation participating in the UN General Assembly meetings next September The message called on the US to reconsider and reverse its decision Move unjust European countries have condemned the move Spain s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the visa decision as unjust in a announcement on X Saturday Palestine has the right to make its voice heard at the United Nations and in all international forums he wrote France one of the countries due to recognize a Palestinian state also weighed in A UN General Assembly meeting should not be subject to any restrictions on access Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot mentioned at a meeting in Denmark Inquired about the announcement Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour mentioned Friday we will see exactly what it means and how it applies to any of our delegation and we will respond accordingly In the declaration announcing the move the State Department accused the PA and the PLO of taking measures that materially contributed to Hamas s refusal to release its hostages and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks Before we take them seriously as partners in peace the PA and PLO must thoroughly reject terrorism and stop counterproductively pursuing the unilateral recognition of a hypothetical state State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott reported on X The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC which has member states including Saudi Arabia the UAE Qatar Egypt Indonesia and Pakistan criticized the US decision calling it discriminatory In a announcement issued Friday it called on the US to reconsider this discriminatory decision which contradicts international law and the Headquarters Agreement it signed and to fulfill its obligations under this agreement and respect the role of the United Nations as a unifying umbrella for all states and their official representatives Several experts reported that the denial of visas to Palestinian representatives for the key gathering in New York does not help advance diplomacy for a ceasefire in Gaza Israeli personnel including Foreign Minister Gideon Sa ar and UN Ambassador Danny Danon praised the move In July the State Department reported sanctions that would deny visas to the US to unnamed PA and PLO personnel The move also appears to be a further step to punish those involved in international tribunals probes of alleged crimes committed by Israel The PA must also end its attempts to work around negotiations through international lawfare campaigns including appeals to the ICC and ICJ and efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state Friday s comment noted