The United States has blocked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from attending the upcoming UN General Assembly session in New York, after revoking his visa along with those of about 80 other Palestinian officials, according to the US State Department.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Abbas and his delegation of undermining peace efforts and seeking “the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.” The decision, welcomed by Israel, is highly unusual, as Washington is generally expected to facilitate the travel of all officials visiting UN headquarters.
The move comes as France, supported by several allies, pushes for international recognition of a Palestinian state during the session—an initiative strongly opposed by Donald Trump’s administration.
Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour had previously confirmed that Abbas would attend the high-level meeting in New York. But a State Department official later clarified that the decision to revoke visas would apply to both Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA) representatives.
Rubio said Palestinian representatives based at the UN mission in New York would still be able to attend under the UN Headquarters Agreement. However, it remains unclear whether blocking Abbas and other officials is consistent with that agreement, which requires the US not to impede access for representatives “irrespective of relations” between their governments and Washington.
Abbas’s office condemned the decision as a “clear violation of international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement,” urging Washington to reverse course.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised the move, while Palestinian officials expressed outrage, calling it an attempt to silence their representation on the world stage.
Abbas, who leads both the PA in the West Bank and the PLO—recognized by the UN since 1974 as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people—has faced challenges governing amid expanding Israeli settlements and rivalry with Hamas, which controls Gaza.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status to that of a non-member observer state. Today, 147 of the UN’s 193 member states recognize Palestine. France, the UK, Canada, and Australia have announced they will support recognition during the upcoming session.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a two-state solution, warning that recognition of Palestine would reward “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism.” His remarks follow the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and left 251 taken hostage. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since then has killed more than 63,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Rubio argued that before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must renounce terrorism, end incitement in education, and stop pursuing legal cases against Israel at international courts.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the organization was in discussions with the US State Department, stressing that “all member states and permanent observers must be able to be represented.” He noted the urgency of Abbas’s participation, given France and Saudi Arabia’s plan to host a high-level meeting on the two-state solution at the start of the General Assembly.
Despite growing recognition abroad, the lack of defined borders, ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, and calls to annex parts of Gaza mean that recognition of a Palestinian state is unlikely to change realities on the ground in the near term.
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