US extends visa ban on Palestinian officials before UN General Assembly
Summary
The U.S. State Department said it will keep its visa ban on Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, stopping him from traveling to the U.N. General Assembly in New York. The U.S. government said the ban is because the Palestinians did not change their actions and continued behaviors the U.S. sees as harmful to peace efforts.Key Facts
- The U.S. will extend visa restrictions on officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not be allowed to travel to the U.N. General Assembly in New York for the second year in a row.
- The U.S. says the Palestinians failed to reform and acted against commitments made to the U.S.
- The U.S. accuses the PA of seeking international recognition outside direct talks with Israel and of paying people labeled as attackers by the U.S. and Israel.
- Palestinian officials at the U.N. mission can still work under a special waiver, but individual leaders cannot enter the U.S.
- Abbas’s planned speech was expected to call for more support for a two-state solution and highlight problems in Gaza and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
- Israeli officials do not face similar U.S. travel restrictions, even though the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes.
- Critics say the U.S. visa bans violate rules that should allow U.N. invitees to enter the U.S. and that the bans harm peace efforts by targeting Palestinians but not Israelis.
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