US Denies President Mahmoud Abbas Entry to UN Amid Growing Support for Palestinian Statehood

The United States has barred Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York next month, Reuters reported on Saturday. 

According to the re[ort, Abbas had planned to attend the annual gathering where several Western countries, including Britain, France, Australia, and Canada, are set to formally recognise Palestine as a state.

The US State Department stated that Abbas, along with around 80 other members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA), would be denied visas to attend the event, per AP. A State Department official confirmed to the news agency that the visa denial applied to “members of the PLO and the PA,” though it excluded officials from the Palestinian Authority’s permanent mission to the UN in New York.

US Cites Security and Extremism Concerns

The Trump administration cited security concerns and accusations that the PA and PLO have failed to repudiate extremism. “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,” Reuters quoted the State Department spokesperson as saying. The decision follows US and Israeli concerns that the PA and PLO have not done enough to prevent terrorism, particularly following the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Abbas’ office, meanwhile, accused the US of violating the UN “headquarters agreement,” which typically guarantees diplomats access to the United Nations. However, Washington maintains that it has the right to deny visas for foreign policy reasons.

European Criticism

Several European foreign ministers sharply criticised the American action, with French and Spanish ministers calling the move “unacceptable”. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris also urged the European Union to protest the decision strongly. 

Growing Palestinian Recognition at the UN

At least 147 out of the 193 UN member states already recognise Palestine as a state. Meanwhile, many countries have expressed frustrated over Israeli military actions in Gaza that have led to massive over 63000 casualties and a dire humanitarian crisis. The current situation in Gaza and Israel’s settlement activity in the West Bank – considered by many as illegal – have fuelled calls for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

While the US has said that the creation of a Palestinian state should come through negotiations between Israel and Palestine, the increasing international recognition of Palestine as a state seems to be mounting pressure on Washington and Tel Aviv.