The visa ban applies to both representatives of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestinian umbrella organization PLO, writes the US State Department in the statement:
”The Trump administration has been clear: It is in our national security interest to hold the PLO and PA accountable for failing to meet their commitments and for undermining the prospects for peace."
The State Department demands, among other things, that the PA cease its appeals to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as its efforts to obtain recognition of a Palestinian state.
”Contrary to international law”
A source at the State Department tells AP that Mahmoud Abbas is among a number of Palestinian representatives who are being denied visas.
Abbas has spoken at the UN General Assembly in New York for many years. This year, he was also expected to attend a high-level meeting hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, where a two-state solution would be discussed.
The PA expresses "surprise" over the decision in a statement and adds that it "contradicts international law".
A trial is currently underway at the ICJ, which began in December 2023, in which South Africa accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza. The ICC, in turn, has issued international arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and now deceased leaders within the Palestinian Hamas.
”Lawfare”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused the ICC of "lawfare against the US and our close ally Israel".
Washington also accuses Western allies of playing into Hamas' hands by recognizing a Palestinian state.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently announced that Paris will recognize Palestine in connection with the UN meeting in September, as a step towards a two-state solution. Others, including Canada and Australia, have followed suit. In total, around 150 countries will then have recognized Palestine, which Sweden did in 2014.
As the host of the UN in New York, the US is expected not to block foreign representatives from visiting the world organization.
The US State Department emphasizes that the visa ban does not apply to the Palestinian Authority's permanent UN representation.
