A senior Palestinian official has condemned the United States’ decision to deny Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York this year. The official, identified as one of Abbas’s closest aides, expressed frustration with what he described as a lack of consideration by the US administration regarding recent reforms initiated by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
This marks the second consecutive year that Abbas has been prevented from traveling to the United States for the annual UN summit, compelling him to deliver his address remotely. The PA official said there had been hope that the US would adopt a more flexible position this year, but ultimately the visa request was denied. Abbas is expected to address the assembly either via live video or through a recorded statement, though a final decision has yet to be made.
The official linked the visa refusal to the PA’s diplomatic efforts at various international institutions, including moves to gain recognition for a Palestinian state and legal actions before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). These steps are viewed by both the US and Israel as unilateral and undermining peace negotiations. “It seems that the issue is not the reforms we make or do not make. Rather, it looks like a political issue,” the official said.
The US State Department reiterated its position in a recent statement, asserting that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority have failed to meet their commitments. The statement cites their continued efforts to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via the ICC and ICJ, attempts to bypass direct negotiations through unilateral recognition of statehood, and the continued payment of stipends to individuals involved in terrorist activities, along with public glorification of such acts and persons. As a result, the US announced it would renew sanctions withholding visas from PLO and PA officials.
In response, Abbas’s office condemned the US stance, defending the PA’s recourse to international bodies and law as a legitimate and peaceful strategy to protect Palestinian rights. The statement emphasized that Palestinian efforts are not a replacement for negotiations but rather recognition of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the realization of an independent state. It also accused Israel’s policies of occupation, settlement expansion, annexation, and settler violence of posing the primary threats to the two-state solution and prospects for peace.
Despite the diplomatic setback, the PA official affirmed that the Palestinian leadership would continue to pursue all necessary measures to advance its interests on the international stage, signaling that efforts to gain broader recognition and support would persist in the absence of a breakthrough in direct negotiations.