The United States has denied an entry visa to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, preventing him from attending the upcoming 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a source familiar with the situation. This marks the second consecutive year that Washington has blocked the Palestinian leader from entering the country for the annual diplomatic event.
On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department announced it had informed Congress that the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) had failed to meet commitments required under U.S. law. The department specifically cited Palestinian efforts to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Furthermore, the U.S. pointed to attempts by Palestinian officials to bypass formal negotiations by seeking unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
The State Department also accused the PLO and PA of continuing to provide financial stipends to individuals involved in terrorism and of glorifying such acts in public statements and school textbooks. Consequently, the department stated that the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials.
These measures are being implemented ahead of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, which is scheduled to begin next week. The decision follows a similar move by Washington last year, when it denied or revoked visas for PLO and PA officials ahead of the 2025 General Assembly, despite calls from U.S. allies to reconsider. Although the PA Mission to the UN received waivers under the UN Headquarters Agreement, those protections did not extend to the President's personal entry. Mahmoud Abbas was unable to attend the 2025 assembly in person and instead addressed the gathering virtually. Reports on Wednesday confirmed that the U.S. has again denied the visa application for Abbas, as well as those for other Palestinian Authority officials.
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