US bars Palestinian leader Abbas from UN meet as allies pledge statehood recognition

WASHINGTON/RAMALLAH, West Bank – The US said on Aug 29 it will not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York in September for a UN gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognise Palestine as a state.

A US State Department official said Mr Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke the visas of members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA).

Mr Abbas had been planning to travel to New York for the annual high-level General Assembly at the UN headquarters in Manhattan.

He was also set to attend a summit there – hosted by France and Saudi Arabia – at which Britain, France, Australia and Canada have pledged to formally recognise a Palestinian state.

Mr Abbas’ office said it was astonished by the visa decision and argued that it violated the UN “headquarters agreement”.

Under a 1947 UN “headquarters agreement”, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.

Washington, however, has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

Several European foreign ministers arriving at a European Union meeting in Copenhagen on Aug 30 criticised the US decision.

A UN General Assembly “cannot be subject to any restrictions on access”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the US move was “unacceptable”.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris said the EU should protest against the decision “in the strongest possible terms”.

The US State Department justified its decision on Aug 29 by reiterating longstanding American and Israeli allegations that the PA and PLO had failed to repudiate extremism while pushing for “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state.

Palestinian officials reject such allegations and say that decades of US-mediated talks have failed to end Israeli occupation and secure an independent state of Palestine.

“(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 US State Department said.

It said that the PA’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.

Recognition pledges

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would discuss the visa issue with the US State Department, “in line with UN headquarters agreement between the UN and the US”.

In 1988, Washington also refused to issue a visa to then PLO leader Yasser Arafat. The UN General Assembly held a meeting that year in Geneva instead of New York so he could address it.

The US State Department said it demands that the PA and PLO “consistently repudiate terrorism”, including the deadly October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked Israel’s war in Gaza.

In June, Mr Abbas, the Palestinian President, wrote a letter to France’s President in which he condemned the Hamas attack and called on hostages taken by the militant group to be released.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the US State Department’s decision.

Israel and the US are upset with several allies who have pledged to

recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September

.

The recognition pledges by the Western powers reflect frustration with Israel’s assault in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people and set off a starvation crisis.

It also reflects anger with Israeli settlement building in the West Bank, viewed as the heartland of a potential Palestinian state.

At least 147 of the 193 UN member states already recognise a Palestinian state.

The Palestinians currently have observer status at the UN, the same as the Holy See (Vatican).

The Palestinians have long sought a state in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The US says a Palestinian state can be established only through direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. REUTERS