Just weeks before the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the US has taken an exceptional punitive measure. In a statement, the State Department announced the cancellation or refusal of visas for members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – nearly 80 people, according to the Associated Press. Only diplomats attached to the Palestinian mission to the UN would be able to carry out their work due to a special status. This means Mahmoud Abbas himself could be prevented from delivering another address to the General Assembly. “The Trump administration has been clear,” the statement read. “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.”
What are the accusations against the Palestinian leadership? According to the State Department, it should repudiate terrorism – including “the October 7 massacre” – and put an end to the promotion of terrorism in education. “The PA must also end its attempts to bypass negotiations through international lawfare campaigns,” a reference to legal actions brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). According to the State Department, these initiatives “contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks.”
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