For the second straight year, the Trump administration denied visas to the Palestinian Authority delegation for the United Nations General Assembly.
The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that the authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization “have, once again, failed to live up to their commitments” by using international lawfare against Israel instead of seeking a negotiated settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“This includes initiating and supporting actions at international organizations that undermine and contradict prior commitments,” and “taking actions to internationalize” the conflict through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, Foggy Bottom said.
It added that the PA and PLO seek to “bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition.”
The State Department also said that the PA is “continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks.”
The State Department granted waivers to those stationed at the Palestinian “observer” mission to the United Nations.
The statement doesn’t mention next week’s U.N. General Assembly high-level debate week, but the timing isn’t coincidental.
JNS has learned that the General Assembly will vote on Thursday on a resolution allowing the PA to participate next week by video or pre-recorded statements, while criticizing Washington’s visa refusal.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to speak on Sept. 24—the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the global body.
The Trump administration’s contact with the PA has been limited, and U.S. officials appear to meet more often with Hamas than its Ramallah-based rival government.
Trump and Board of Peace officials have given no indication that the PA will play a role in future Gaza governance—something for which Abbas has called.
