US bars Palestinian president from UN trip

Washington has accused the Palestinian leadership of undermining peace while continuing to shield Israel from penalties

The US has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York for a second year in a row.

The ban comes as Washington continues to hold direct talks with Hamas and imposes no comparable restrictions on Israeli leaders.

The US State Department said the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had failed to reform and were taking steps that “undermine the prospects for peace.” Washington specifically objected to Palestinian efforts to pursue Israel at international courts, seek wider recognition of statehood, and continue payments to Palestinians jailed or killed by Israel.

The decision has again put Washington at odds with the UN. Last year, after the US imposed the same ban, the General Assembly voted 145-5 to allow Abbas to speak by video, with Washington and Israel opposing. UN experts said the US was violating its obligations as host of UN headquarters by preventing invited Palestinian officials from reaching New York.

The PA remains the internationally recognized Palestinian administration, although Hamas has de facto ruled Gaza since 2007. The State of Palestine is recognized by 160 of the UN’s 193 members, including Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin received Abbas at the Kremlin in January and has argued that Gaza should ultimately be returned to Palestinian administration.

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Washington, however, has increasingly sidelined Abbas and the PA while senior US officials have met with Hamas leaders several times since 2025, despite shunning the militant group for years and designating it as a terrorist organization.

The contrast has further been sharpened by Israel’s own role in sustaining Hamas-run Gaza before the October 7 attack. Successive governments under Benjamin Netanyahu approved and encouraged hundreds of millions of dollars in Qatari funding for the enclave. Critics in Israel have long argued that the policy strengthened Hamas at the expense of the PA.

Nevertheless, Washington has continued to shield Israel from international pressure and has fought the International Criminal Court over its pursuit of Israeli officials.

At the same time, the UN says Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank has reached record levels, with more than 1,600 attacks causing casualties or property damage recorded in the first eight months of 2026.

Abbas and Netanyahu are both scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 24. Unless the visa decision changes, Abbas will once again appear on a screen while Netanyahu will take the podium in New York in person.