The US State Department announced overnight that it is extending visa sanctions against senior Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) officials, after determining that they are not meeting their commitments to Washington. One consequence is that, for the second year in a row, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not be able to enter the US to attend the UN General Assembly.
At the same time, it was reported that on the sidelines of the assembly, President Trump will meet with Gulf leaders on Iran and "the day after."
The US said it would extend visa sanctions against senior Palestinian Authority officials and PLO members, after the State Department determined they continue to fail to meet their commitments to Washington. The announcement came alongside the denial of a visa request for PA Chairman Abbas, who will not be permitted to travel to New York to deliver his address to the General Assembly next week.
The State Department's statement claimed, among other things, that the Palestinian Authority and PLO are working to advance measures against Israel at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice in The Hague. It further claimed they are seeking to promote unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, and continuing payments to terrorists and the "glorification of terror." At the same time, it clarified that the existing exemption for staff at the Palestinian Permanent Observer Mission to the UN will remain in effect.
At the UN General Assembly, member states will vote today on a Palestinian draft resolution seeking to allow PA representatives to participate via video or pre-recorded statements during the 81st General Assembly session, should its representatives be barred from attending in New York. The draft resolution stresses that representatives of the "State of Palestine" should be given the opportunity to participate in person in relevant UN meetings in New York. The draft also expresses regret in its preamble over the US visa denial and demands the decision be reversed immediately.
Under the draft resolution, Abbas would be able to deliver a pre-recorded statement to be broadcast during the assembly's general debate, with a Palestinian representative present in the hall permitted to introduce it with opening remarks. In addition, the Palestinians are seeking permission for him to participate via video or deliver a recorded statement to the conference on the two-state solution.
The resolution is also expected to allow additional Palestinian representatives unable to reach New York to deliver pre-recorded statements during the assembly's session. It further states that the text of Abbas's address will be circulated in writing to all member states after it is broadcast.
Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said, "Abu Mazen cannot keep paying terrorists, rewarding the families of terrorists and promoting a culture that glorifies terror, and then be surprised when doors close on him. Whoever wants to be part of the international community must first act accordingly. You cannot reward terror with one hand and demand international legitimacy with the other."
