The United States has again refused to grant a visa to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, barring him from attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York for the second year in a row. The State Department formally announced it would extend visa sanctions on officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), citing what it called their "failure to reform" and "ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace." A source familiar with the matter confirmed that Abbas himself is covered by the measure. As in 2025, when he was forced to address the world body by video link, Abbas is again expected to be unable to attend in person.
Washington outlined a series of grievances justifying the ban. The State Department accused the PA and PLO of violating US law — specifically the 1989 PLO Commitments Compliance Act and the 2002 Middle East Peace Commitments Act — by pursuing international recognition of Palestinian statehood through channels outside direct negotiations, taking the conflict to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), and continuing to provide financial payments to individuals the US and Israel designate as convicted attackers and their families. Despite the ban, the Palestinian mission to the UN retains a waiver under the UN Headquarters Agreement, allowing its accredited diplomatic staff to continue working in New York.
The decision carries particular weight given the moment. Abbas had been expected to use this year's General Assembly address to champion renewed momentum toward a two-state solution, following a wave of recognitions of Palestinian statehood this month by the United Kingdom, France, Canada and other Western governments. A total of 142 UN member states have now endorsed Palestinian statehood, following a conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic — more than 73,700 Palestinians have been killed there since October 2023 according to Gaza's health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable — and violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has escalated sharply.
Critics have pointed to a glaring asymmetry: no Israeli officials face equivalent US travel restrictions, despite an ICC arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Last year, UN human rights experts argued that the visa bans violate Washington's obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement, which requires the host country to allow individuals invited by the UN to travel to its New York headquarters. Palestinian officials and international observers have long argued that singling out Palestinian representatives while shielding Israeli leaders undermines Washington's stated commitment to a negotiated peace — a position now shared by a growing number of US allies.