Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appears on a screen as he addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
The United States has extended visa restrictions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, preventing President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials from travelling to the US ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The US has previously said such actions violate commitments made by the Palestinian Authority and PLO under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002.
The US state department said it had determined that the Palestinian Authority and PLO continued to engage in actions that Washington considers inconsistent with commitments made under US laws, according to Reuters. The state department said the Palestinian leadership had continued to pursue measures against Israel through international bodies, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. The state department said the restrictions do not apply to Palestinian officials covered by a waiver for the Palestinian Mission to the UN.
The restrictions come ahead of the annual UN gathering, where Palestinian statehood and the Israel-Palestinian conflict are expected to remain major issues. Washington also cited efforts to secure international recognition of a Palestinian state outside negotiations with Israel. The administration also cited what it described as payments to individuals involved in terrorism and the glorification of terrorism. The waiver allows accredited Palestinian diplomats to enter the US and participate in UN-related activities despite the broader visa restrictions.