UN General Assembly to open in New York with Palestinian visas denied, Midtown closures planned

The UN General Assembly's high-level week is scheduled to run Sept. 22-28 in Manhattan, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump both due to attend, according to the New York Post. The US State Department said Wednesday it would deny visas to Palestine Liberation Organization members and Palestinian Authority officials, including PA President Mahmoud Abbas, for the second consecutive year, according to Al Jazeera English, France 24 and CBC News. New York City officials announced a temporary flight restriction within two nautical miles of the UN, street closures in Midtown and the deployment of thousands of officers, with NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch saying multiple protests are expected each day, according to Gothamist and the New York Post.

In a statement that did not name Abbas, the State Department said it would deny visas to PLO members and PA officials 'as a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace,' according to France 24 and CBC News. The department said the PLO and PA had 'once again, failed to live up to their commitments,' and accused them of taking actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, seeking unilateral recognition and paying stipends to families of prisoners convicted of attacks against Israelis, the two outlets reported. CBC News reported that officials tied to the PLO were also mentioned and that the visa denials follow standing US law.

France 24 reported that a source familiar with the case confirmed to AFP that Abbas was covered by the measure, and that the Trump administration took the same step last year, when Abbas addressed the assembly by video. Al Jazeera English and CBC News reported that Palestinians will still be represented at the high-level meeting by diplomats already accredited to the UN. CBC News noted that the PA represents the Palestinian people at the UN, where the delegation is officially known as the State of Palestine, holds observer state status with no General Assembly vote, and that under a 1947 UN headquarters agreement the US is generally required to allow foreign diplomats access to the UN, though Washington says it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons. France 24 reported that 142 UN member states endorsed Palestinian statehood following a two-state solution conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, and CBC News reported that Canada and several other countries have said they are prepared to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Al Jazeera English reported that a State Department spokesman said a scaled-down Iranian delegation, covering President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and essential staff, would be allowed to attend high-level week 'consistent with our host country obligations,' with tighter travel curbs and luxury import prohibitions. It also reported that Washington recently barred Abbas and dozens of PA officials for the second consecutive year, and that the State Department announced a broader visa ban targeting PA and PLO officials.

Gothamist reported that Tisch said the department expects multiple protests every day and will facilitate First Amendment activity while showing no tolerance for violence or destruction of property, describing the assembly as one of the most complex security operations the NYPD carries out. According to the New York Post, Tisch said thousands of uniformed officers will be posted at and around UN headquarters, supported by heavy weapons teams, aviation and harbor units, K-9 teams, the bomb squad, the department's drone team and counterterrorism officers. Both outlets reported deployment alongside the FBI, Secret Service, State Department Diplomatic Security Service and UN police, and both reported officials saying there were no known specific or credible threats.

The New York Post reported that the city Department of Transportation issued a gridlock alert beginning Monday, and Gothamist reported gridlock alert days from Sept. 21 through Sept. 25. Both outlets reported that First Avenue will be closed from 41st to 48th streets, that 44th through 47th streets will be closed between First and Second avenues daily, that 42nd Street will be closed between First and Second avenues while the assembly is in session until roughly 9 p.m., and that the 42nd Street exit off the FDR Drive will be blocked during those times. Gothamist reported portions of the FDR will close at times and that rolling closures will occur across Manhattan as delegations travel; the New York Post reported the flight restriction within two nautical miles of the building, while Gothamist reported the temporary restriction, including for unauthorized drones, from Sept. 20 through Sept. 26. Both reported passenger vehicles and bicycles can still use the First Avenue Tunnel to head north, and the New York Post reported access to Tudor City via 41st and 43rd streets. Gothamist reported the MTA is urging subway use and warning of bus and Access-A-Ride delays, with Long Island Rail Road riders directed to Grand Central Madison and Metro-North riders to Grand Central Terminal.

Gothamist reported that Mayor Zohran Mamdani called on New Yorkers in July to protest Netanyahu, whom he called a 'war criminal,' after conceding he had no authority to arrest him. The New York Post reported that Mamdani said in July he would seek to have Netanyahu arrested when he arrived in the city, a threat the Post reported Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar laughed off, and that Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, called for Mamdani's arrest ahead of Netanyahu's arrival. Gothamist reported Danon told reporters the mayor was encouraging disruption: 'The mayor is supposed to make sure we have a quiet week with less traffic and issues — but he's doing the exact opposite. He's inciting, calling for people to demonstrate against our prime minister but none of that will stop us.' Mamdani did not answer directly when asked whether anyone at the NYPD had urged him to soften his criticism of Netanyahu, saying his conversations with the department concerned standard preparations and keeping New Yorkers safe, according to Gothamist. The Post reported Tisch and Mamdani assured there are no specific threats, quoting the mayor as saying the security posture will be elevated out of an abundance of caution and calling it standard procedure.

The New York Post reported that the assembly comes as antisemitic hate crimes in the city rose 8% through the end of August compared with the same period last year, accounting for more than half of confirmed hate crimes over that span, and that local Jewish leaders have blamed Mamdani for anti-Israeli rhetoric. The Post reported that permits have been issued for at least 55 assembly-related events.

Al Jazeera English reported the assembly will be held under strain from Russia's war on Ukraine, Middle East volatility and global economic disturbance. The outlet also described a continuing conflict between the US and Iran with no clear path to reopening the Strait of Hormuz or reviving talks, noting the chokepoint handles roughly 20 percent of global seaborne energy transit and that Trump has said the conflict is nearing its end and claimed direct talks with Tehran. CBC News reported a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire took hold in October in Gaza, with Israel continuing strikes, and that the Trump administration has launched a campaign to dismantle the ICC and sanctioned its judges.

Where sources differ

• Characterization of Mamdani's position on Netanyahu: the New York Post reports he vowed to arrest Netanyahu or said he would seek to have him arrested; Gothamist reports he called Netanyahu a 'war criminal,' conceded he had no authority to arrest him and called on New Yorkers to protest.
• Number of visiting representatives: the New York Post reports some 200 foreign dignitaries; Gothamist reports representatives from nearly 200 countries.
• Flight restriction timing: Gothamist specifies a temporary restriction from Sept. 20 through Sept. 26; the New York Post describes the restriction within two nautical miles of the building without giving dates.
• Gridlock alert timing: the New York Post says alerts begin Monday; Gothamist says gridlock alert days run Sept. 21 through Sept. 25.
• State of regional hostilities: Al Jazeera English describes a conflict between the US and Iran in its seventh month with the Strait of Hormuz disrupted; CBC News describes a fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza that took hold in October with continued Israeli strikes.

• No source includes comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his government on the Palestinian visa denials, the calls to protest his visit or the calls for his arrest.
• No source includes a response from the Iranian government or delegation to the scaled-down delegation, travel restrictions or luxury import prohibitions.
• No source establishes whether Mahmoud Abbas will address this year's assembly by video, as France 24, Al Jazeera English and CBC News report he did last year.
• No source reports any comment from the United Nations Secretariat or the Secretary-General on the US visa denials or on the 1947 headquarters agreement cited by CBC News.
• Officials declined to say which day would draw the largest crowds and declined to detail Netanyahu's movements; Gothamist reported officials attributed his expected arrival at Newark Liberty International Airport rather than JFK to complex logistical planning.
• No source identifies any specific or credible threat, and no source describes the number of visas denied or a full list of affected individuals.
• No source gives an estimate of the economic cost of the street closures, flight restrictions or ferry disruptions, or the total number of officers deployed.
• No source establishes whether the New York Post's reported 8% rise in antisemitic hate crimes and the 55 issued permits were independently confirmed.

1. New York Post — original — by Amanda Woods, Amber Roldan, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
2. Al Jazeera English — by Al Jazeera Staff
3. Gothamist — by Charles Lane
4. France 24 — by FRANCE 24
5. CBC News

Read the original at New York Post

• Titans fan account retracts pledge to walk nearly 900 miles to MetLife Stadium
• Republican Sens. Moreno and Banks oppose Senate inquiry into Trump Jr. over Russian-funded wedding party
• Bentley unveils Torcal, its first fully electric vehicle, priced from £173,000
• UK Conservatives propose cutting Universal Credit by 30% for long-term unemployed
• NYPD says cameras captured three men emerging from sewers near Netanyahu's planned New York hotel
• Draft statement attributed to Rubio condemning UK, France and Canada settlement-import bans was never released