Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hailed the United States’ decision to revoke entry visas for Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and other senior officials in the PA and PLO for the UN General Assembly in September.
In his X account the FM wrote: “Thank you to US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for this brave step and for standing by Israel’s side.”
Also reacting to the decision, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expressed regret over the US State Department’s decision.
In an announcement, his office added that “the American State Department’s decision contradicts international law. The American administration must reverse its decision and allow the Palestinian delegation’s entry.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday to tell him that Madrid supports him after the US denied him a visa to attend a United Nations gathering of world leaders.
The visa denial is "unjust," Sanchez said in a post on social media platform X.
Palestinian Authority failed to repudiate terror, US says
A source in the US State Department said that, in addition to Abbas, the US has denied visas to 80 other officials from the PA.
In a statement, the department reiterated longstanding US and Israeli allegations that the PA and PLO had failed to repudiate terrorism while pushing for "unilateral recognition" of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian officials reject such allegations and claim that decades of US-mediated talks have failed to end Israeli occupation and secure an independent Palestinian state.
Amichai Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.