US extends visa ban on Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian officials

The U.S. State Department announced that it will extend visa‑barring measures targeting Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), including Mahmoud Abbas, in preparation for the United Nations General Assembly.

“In light of their failure to reform—contrary to their pledges to the United States—and the ongoing actions that undermine prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and Palestinian Authority officials,” said the State Department in a press release.

During Trump’s first term, his administration imposed a series of restrictions on Palestinian officials, notably closing the PLO office in Washington in 2018 and cutting U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority.

The restrictions also affected Abbas, who had to deliver remarks to the UN General Assembly by video link after the United States denied his visa request.

Israeli media had previously reported that the United States rejected Abbas’s appeal for a visa to attend this year’s General Assembly sessions.

The Palestinian side was also informed that the turnaway stemmed from allegations of ties to a group listed as a terrorist organization by the United States.

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