Palestinian Authority chief barred from entering US for UN summit

Trump administration bars PA chief Mahmoud Abbas from entering the US over payments to terrorists, preventing him from attending United Nations summit in person.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The United States has denied Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend next week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, forcing him to address the gathering remotely for the second consecutive year.

The State Department confirmed Wednesday that it was extending visa sanctions against officials from the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization, saying the Palestinian leadership had again failed to meet commitments Washington says are required under US law.

Abbas and dozens of other PA officials had applied for permission to enter the United States earlier this month despite indications that the Trump administration intended to maintain restrictions imposed last year.

The department accused the PA and PLO of pursuing cases against Israel through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, seeking international recognition of Palestinian statehood outside direct negotiations, and continuing payments to jailed terrorists and the families of slain terrorists.

It also accused Palestinian institutions of glorifying terrorism in official statements and educational materials.

“As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States,” the State Department said, Washington would continue denying visas to PLO and PA officials.

The public statement cited the Middle East Peace Commitments Act as the legal basis for extending the sanctions.

“It is in our national interest to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for glorifying terrorism,” the State Department wrote.

Abbas’s office was informed of the decision Wednesday. Similar rejections were issued to dozens of officials who had hoped to accompany him to New York.

The Palestinian Mission to the UN subsequently moved to secure authorization for Abbas to participate remotely.

A resolution allowing him to address the General Assembly virtually is expected to come before the body Thursday.

Abbas is scheduled to speak on September 24, the same day as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In 2025, Washington denied or revoked visas for Abbas and scores of other Palestinian officials.

The General Assembly responded by voting 145-5, with six abstentions, to permit Abbas to deliver a prerecorded address and participate remotely in other high-level UN meetings.

Israel and the United States were among the five countries voting against the measure.

That resolution included language “regretting” the US decision to deny Palestinian representatives visas and called for its reversal. The measure was framed as an exception rather than a permanent change to the rules governing participation in the General Assembly.

The dispute also touches on the United States’ obligations as host country for UN headquarters. The 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement generally requires Washington to allow foreign representatives to travel to New York for UN business, though US governments have maintained that national security and foreign policy considerations can permit restrictions in certain circumstances.

The State Department said accredited personnel already assigned to the Palestinian observer mission in New York would continue to receive a standing waiver, meaning Palestinian diplomats currently based at the UN can continue operating there.

The renewed visa restrictions come amid particularly strained relations between Washington and Ramallah.

The Trump administration has largely sidelined the PA in its regional diplomacy while pressing it to implement political, financial and institutional reforms before Washington will consider supporting a broader Palestinian political role.

Trump adviser Jared Kushner said last month that the administration wanted evidence that Palestinian institutions could govern effectively before discussing statehood.

“With the PA they fall very very short on the standard,” Kushner said during a Fox News interview.

Kushner later questioned whether the promised reforms would actually be implemented, saying the PA had been pledging changes “for a decade now.”