US extends visa restrictions barring Palestinian officials from UN General Assembly

The US State Department said on Wednesday it would extend visa sanctions that deny entry to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA), barring the Palestinian delegation from attending next week's United Nations General Assembly in New York for a second consecutive year. The department said the PA and PLO had failed to meet commitments set out in the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002, citing what it described as efforts to internationalise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, attempts to bypass negotiations by seeking unilateral recognition, payments to people the US and Israel label as convicted attackers and their families, and the glorification of terrorism. The PA's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates rejected the allegations in a statement on Thursday, calling the visa measures an unjustified step that undermines efforts to rebuild trust and develop Palestinian-US relations. The General Assembly is due to begin its general debate on 22 September.

The State Department said the sanctions followed the Palestinian leadership's 'failure to reform' and what it called continuing activity that undercuts prospects for peace, according to statements quoted by The Guardian and Al Jazeera English. State Department officials said the decision served the US national interest by imposing consequences on the PLO and PA for glorifying terrorism, according to The Hill. Al Jazeera reported that the department accused the PA of violating US law by pursuing international recognition of statehood outside direct negotiations, taking its dispute with Israel to international courts, and providing payments to those the US and Israel label as convicted attackers and their families. The Times of India, citing Reuters, reported the same stated grounds.

The Times of India reported the legal framework cited: the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 requires Washington to assess whether the PLO is meeting commitments on recognising Israel, accepting UN resolutions and renouncing violence, while the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002 requires assessment of PLO and PA compliance with commitments from the Oslo peace process, including resolving outstanding issues through negotiation and peaceful means.

The State Department said a waiver under the UN Headquarters Agreement would continue, allowing the Palestinian mission's regular staff to keep working and accredited diplomats to take part in UN-related activities, while individual officials remain barred from entering the United States, according to The Hill, Al Jazeera English and The Times of India.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is among those prevented from travelling, Al Jazeera English and The Times of India reported; The Guardian said Abbas is among the barred officials 'according to reports'. The Guardian reported that the General Assembly was set to vote on Thursday on a draft resolution allowing Abbas to address the gathering remotely, citing two officials familiar with the planned vote, according to the New York Times. Abbas addressed the assembly by video link last year, according to the Washington Post and The Guardian.

Al Jazeera English reported that no Israeli officials face equivalent US travel restrictions, despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza. It also reported that last year's ban drew criticism from Palestinian officials and UN human rights experts, who said visa bans breach the US obligation to allow individuals invited by the UN to travel to its New York headquarters, and who argued that singling out Palestinian representatives while shielding Israeli leaders undermines Washington's stated commitment to a negotiated peace.

Al Jazeera English reported that Abbas's speech this year had been expected to press for international recognition of Palestinian statehood and renewed momentum behind a two-state solution, following recognitions this month by the United Kingdom, France, Canada and other Western governments, and to draw attention to the humanitarian situation in Gaza and to settlement expansion and settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.

The Hill reported that visas were previously revoked in August 2025, when the State Department urged Palestinian leaders to condemn the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that it said killed 1,200 Israelis. The Hill also reported that Israeli attacks have killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure, that Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement last October, and that Israeli military strikes as recently as Wednesday displaced families. It reported that President Trump's Gaza Board of Peace has sought Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the handover of Hamas weapons under a 15-point plan, and that Netanyahu rejected the disarmament plan and objected to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Where sources differ

• The Hill describes the department as having 'denied visas' to the PLO and PA delegations 'for the second time in more than a year', while The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, the Washington Post and The Times of India describe the action as an extension of existing visa sanctions or restrictions.
• The Hill dates the previous revocation of visas to August 2025; The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, the Washington Post and The Times of India describe the earlier restriction only as having been imposed last year ahead of the General Assembly, without giving a month.
• The Guardian states that Abbas is among the barred officials 'according to reports', while Al Jazeera English and The Times of India state directly that he is prevented from travelling.
• The Hill says the department 'will continue to provide waivers to the delegation' under the UN Headquarters Agreement; Al Jazeera English and The Times of India describe the waiver as covering the Palestinian mission to the UN and its accredited diplomats, with individual officials still barred from entry.

• No source establishes whether the planned General Assembly vote on a draft resolution permitting Abbas to address remotely took place, or its outcome; The Guardian attributes the plan to two officials familiar with the vote, cited via the New York Times.
• No source reports any State Department or other US response to the Palestinian foreign ministry's request that the decision be reconsidered, or to the criticism attributed to UN human rights experts.
• The number of Palestinian officials affected and a full list of those barred are not established; the inclusion of Abbas is attributed by The Guardian to unspecified reports.
• No source explains how the US reconciles the continued UN Headquarters Agreement waiver for the Palestinian mission with the barring of individual officials, or identifies which specific legal obligation, if any, is in dispute.
• No comment from the United Nations Secretariat or the Secretary-General appears in any source.
• The recognitions of Palestinian statehood by the United Kingdom, France and Canada are reported only by Al Jazeera English, with no date given beyond 'this month'.
• Casualty figures, the October 2023 attack details, the October ceasefire and recent strikes are reported only by The Hill and are not corroborated in the other supplied sources.
• No source establishes whether the visa restrictions extend to Palestinian officials based outside the territories or how they apply to other Palestinian representatives.

1. The Hill — original — by Ryan Mancini
2. Washington Post World — by Lior Soroka
3. The Guardian US — by Anna Betts
4. New York Post — by Victor Nava
5. Al Jazeera English — by Al Jazeera Staff
6. The Times of India — by ARYAN SINGH

Read the original at The Hill

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