The United States has denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York.
The UN is expected to vote on a measure that would allow Abbas to participate remotely.
According to information obtained by the The Jerusalem Post, the procedure could also allow senior Palestinian representatives who are unable to enter the US to participate in additional high-level UN events during the current session.
It was not immediately clear whether the US would seek to challenge the measure or simply vote against it.
The US decision marks the second consecutive year in which Abbas has been prevented from traveling to New York for the UN General Assembly.
US and Palestinian officials confirmed the visa denial this week, after Post reported last month that the Trump administration was planning to bar him from attending.
The State Department on Wednesday said it would extend visa sanctions on members of the PLO and officials of the PA.
It said it had reported to Congress that the PLO and PA had “once again” failed to meet commitments under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002.
Washington cited Palestinian efforts at international institutions, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. The charges included Palestinian attempts to gain unilateral recognition rather than pursue negotiations, continued payments to terrorists, and what the department described as the glorification of terrorism in public statements and school textbooks.
“As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials,” the State Department said.
The State Department maintained an existing waiver for personnel formally assigned to the PLO Observer Mission to the UN.
“It is in our national interest to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for glorifying terrorism,” the State Department said.
UN faces same problem for second year
The looming vote at the UN echoes an almost identical confrontation last September.
After Washington denied visas to Abbas and other senior Palestinian officials ahead of the UN General Assembly session, member states adopted a special resolution that allowed Abbas to submit a prerecorded address to be played in the General Assembly Hall.
The measure passed by a 145-5 vote, with six abstentions. Israel and the US were among the five countries that voted against it.
The resolution went further than simply allowing Abbas to deliver his annual speech. It allows other Palestinian officials to be represented via video conference or prerecorded statements in certain high-level meetings.
Abbas or another senior Palestinian representative could also submit prerecorded remarks at other high-level UN meetings and conferences if Palestinian officials were prevented from attending in person.
But the measure contained an important limitation: It applied only to the 80th session and explicitly stated that it should not establish a precedent for future General Assembly debates or high-level meetings. As a result, it does not automatically carry over into this year’s 81st session, requiring the Palestinians and their supporters to pursue new authorization.
The arrangement is highly unusual. Last year’s resolution described the procedure as exceptional, since Palestinian representatives should ordinarily be able to attend UN meetings in New York in person.
Abbas ultimately addressed the General Assembly by video last September.
Danon: ‘You cannot reward terror and demand legitimacy’
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon praised Washington’s position and criticized Abbas.
“Abu Mazen cannot continue paying terrorists, rewarding the families of terrorists, and promoting a culture that glorifies terrorism, and then be surprised when doors are closed to him,” he said, using Abbas’s commonly used Arabic nickname. “Anyone who wants to be part of the international community must first behave accordingly. You cannot reward terrorism with one hand and demand international legitimacy with the other.”
The General Assembly vote will determine whether the UN will again establish a remote-participation mechanism, which will allow Abbas and potentially other senior Palestinian officials to participate despite the US’s visa restrictions.