The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has once again denied visas to a high-level Palestinian delegation to participate in the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, for the second consecutive year.
The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that Palestinian authorities, including the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, had not fulfilled commitments undertaken in previous agreements to pursue peace with Israel. In a statement, the U.S. government said that the Palestinian Authority continued to pursue legal actions against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and maintained the payment of stipends to the families of prisoners convicted of attacks against Israelis. The statement also mentioned individuals linked to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
“As a result of the failure to reform, in disagreement with its commitments to the United States, and of its ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, we will extend sanctions that deny visas to members of the PLO and to authorities of the Palestinian Authority,” the department said, citing current U.S. law.
The measure reinforces the visa-restriction policy of the Trump administration and signals alignment with Israel, which faces international isolation over the Gaza war that began after the attacks of October 7, 2023, attributed to Hamas. A fragile ceasefire mediated by the U.S. took effect in October, but Israel continued to carry out strikes in Palestinian territory.
The episode also occurs as Washington pursues a campaign to weaken the ICC, accusing the court of trying to prosecute American and Israeli soldiers unjustly for alleged crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gaza. The United States and Israel are not members of the court.
Despite the denial, the Palestinians will be represented at the high-level meeting next week by diplomats already accredited to the UN. Last year, Abbas participated via video.
Separately, Israel will open bids for another 2,167 housing units in a West Bank settlement project known as E1, increasing the total to 3,401 homes. Critics say the project, located east of Jerusalem, would divide the West Bank and make a future Palestinian state unviable. A spokesman for Abbas condemned the expansion as a violation of international law; the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not comment. The project had been frozen for years due to U.S. pressure against illegal settlements.
Content translated with the aid of Artificial Intelligence, reviewed and edited by the Broadcast Editorial Desk (Estados Group’s real-time news system).
