The United States says it will not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials to travel to New York next month for a United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognise a Palestinian state.
A US state department official said Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA).
The PA currently has no authority in Gaza and its administrative centre is based in Ramallah City in the occupied West Bank.
Abbas had been planning to travel to New York for the annual high-level UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in Manhattan.
He was also set to attend a summit there — hosted by France and Saudi Arabia — where Australia, Britain, France and Canada have pledged to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has responded to the news, saying on Saturday that "a UN General Assembly meeting... should not be subject to any restrictions on access".
Several European foreign ministers who had gathered for a European Union meeting in Copenhagen on Saturday echoed that criticism and urged the EU to push back on the US' decision.
Abbas says decision violates key UN agreement
Abbas' office said it was astonished by the visa decision and argued that it violated the UN "headquarters agreement".
Under the 1947 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.
In a statement, the department reiterated longstanding US and Israeli allegations that the PA and PLO had failed to "repudiate terrorism" 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 Palestinian state.
"(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 department said.
Governments typically send large delegations to the assembly. The restrictions could lead to a depleted Palestinian presence at the summit, at which several countries have pledged to formally declare their recognition of a Palestinian state.
The recognition pledges from Western powers reflect frustration with Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of people. It also reflects anger with Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank, viewed as the heartland of a potential Palestinian state.
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The United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned a "worst-case famine scenario" is unfolding for some of Gaza's population of 2.1 million.
Earlier this month, the IPC determined that famine was occurring in Gaza City and was likely to spread to other parts of Gaza. The group said 514,000 people are experiencing famine, with the number expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Israel describes widespread hunger documented by aid agencies as "a Hamas-orchestrated starvation campaign", with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating: "There is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza."
In a statement to SBS News earlier this month, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said: "The IDF forcefully rejects the allegation of deliberate starvation of the civilian population."
Stéphane Dujarric, the UN's spokesperson, said the UN would discuss the visa issue with the state department, "in line with UN Headquarters agreement between the UN and the US".
The US also refused to issue a visa to PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 1988. The UN General Assembly met that year in Geneva instead of New York so he could address it.
The state department said it was demanding that the PA and PLO "consistently repudiate terrorism", including the deadly October 2023 Hamas attack.
In June, 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 state department's decision.
A Palestinian state is recognised by 147 of the 193 UN member states. 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 only be established through direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.
It was a position shared by Australia until August, when Prime Minister Albanese announced that Australia would join other nations in recognising a Palestinian state.
The United States has consistently criticised countries for moving to recognise a Palestinian state, and in 2024, it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have granted Palestine full UN membership.
