US revokes Palestinian officials' visas ahead of UN meeting

The US is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, the State Department said on Friday.

The department did not name the officials targeted. It was unclear whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is planning to travel to New York to deliver an address to the late September gathering, was included in the restrictions.

The Palestinians' ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters that they were checking exactly what the US move means "and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly."

Abbas' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US restrictions follow the imposition of US sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization in July, even as other Western powers move toward recognition of Palestinian statehood.

In a statement, the State Department said that "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."

Officials with the Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, reject that they've undermined peace prospects.

Under the 1947 UN "headquarters agreement," the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism and foreign policy reasons.

The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority's mission to the UN would not be included in the restrictions. It did not elaborate.

Palestinians have long sought to create an independent state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem through a mediated peace process. Many accuse Israel of having destroyed Palestinian statehood prospects through increased settlement building in the West Bank and by levelling much of Gaza during the current war. Israel rejects this.

Close US allies Canada, Britain, Australia and France in recent weeks announced or signaled their intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly meeting. This ratcheted up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads from its military assault in Gaza.

Reuters