US to revoke visas for PLO and PA members ahead of UN General Assembly 2025

Several countries are expected to recognise the state of Palestine at United Nations General Assembly in September in New York City

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City, on 26 September 2024 (Leonardo Munoz/AFP)

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The US could be complicating the planned recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September by denying and revoking existing visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday that he would be denying and revoking visas to Palestinian officials who wish to attend the 80th UNGA session in New York City, which opens on 9 September 2025.

“The Trump Administration has been clear: 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,” the announcement read.

It's unclear if PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who is supposed to attend the UNGA session to deliver an address, is included in the restrictions.

The PA is the governing body that has overseen areas of the occupied West Bank since 1994, as part of the Oslo Accords peace agreement between Israel and the PLO. The PLO is an umbrella political coalition that is internationally recognised as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the Palestinian territories and the diaspora.

The Trump administration on Friday demanded that the PLO and PA "consistently repudiate terrorism”, citing the 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel, and that they must stop “incitement to terrorism in education”, according to a US State Department press release.

Abbas condemned the attacks on Israel in June this year in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ahead of a UN conference on a two-state solution.

Rubio's announcement said the PA must halt efforts “to bypass negotiations through international lawfare campaigns”, including appeals to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, and efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state”. The Trump administration cites these two actions as having "materially contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks."

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in 2024, while the ICJ found a plausible case for genocide in 2024.

France said in July that it would formally recognise a Palestinian state at the UNGA in September, and other countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia and Malta, followed suit.

On 31 July, the US first announced it was imposing sanctions and would deny visas to PLO members and PA officials.

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US to revoke visas for PLO and PA members ahead of UN General Assembly 2025

US to revoke visas for PLO and PA members ahead of UN General Assembly 2025

US revokes visas of Palestinian officials to address annual United Nations meeting

US revokes visas of Palestinian officials to address annual United Nations meeting