US denies visas to Palestinian Authority leaders for UN general assembly

[Celerity]

Step comes when France is leading a push to recognise Palestinian state after Israel’s unyielding bombing of Gaza

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/29/us-denies-palestinian-authority-visa-general-assembly



The US has begun denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the United Nations general assembly meeting in September, the state department said on Friday. “The Trump administration has been clear: 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,” it said in a statement.

The new measure further aligns Donald Trump’s administration with Israel’s rightwing government which adamantly rejects a Palestinian state. Israeli officials have repeatedly equated the broadly secular PA, which exercises partial authority in the occupied West Bank, with its bitter Islamist rival Hamas. Using a term favoured by Trump to deride his legal troubles while out of office, the state department accused the Palestinians of “lawfare” by raising grievances against Israel at the international criminal court and international court of justice.

It called on the PA to drop “efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state”. The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, thanked the Trump administration “for this bold step and for standing by Israel once again” in a post on X. It is unclear whether Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, was included in the restrictions. Abbas is planning to travel to New York to deliver an address to United Nations general assembly.

The PA’s ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters that they were seeking details on what the new US measure means “and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly”. Stéphane Dujarric, a UN spokesperson, said it was “important” for all states and observers, which includes the Palestinians, to be represented at a summit scheduled for the day before the general assembly begins. “We obviously hope that this will be resolved,” Dujarric said.

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[vanessa_ca]

1. Long past time to move the UN Hqs out of the USA -eom

[Mosby]

3. The UN Secretariat building in Manhattan has a net interior area of 1,020,000 square feet

It's 42 levels total. Maybe they could build something like that in Brussels, Geneva or London.

They should get right on that.

[cliffside]

4. Kick nt