U.S. bars Palestinian leader Abbas from UN as allies back statehood

The United States said on Friday it would not allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York next month for a United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several U.S. allies are set to recognize Palestine as a state.

A State Department official said Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

Abbas had planned to attend the annual high-level United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York. He was also set to attend a summit there, where Britain, France, Australia and Canada have pledged to formally recognize a Palestinian state.

Abbas' office said it was astonished by the visa decision and said it violated the UN "headquarters agreement."

Under a 1947 UN "headquarters agreement," the U.S. is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. However, Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for Abbas, called on Saturday for Washington to reconsider its decision.

European Union foreign ministers met in Copenhagen on Saturday, and they unanimously urged the U.S. to reconsider its recent decision to deny entry visas to Palestinian officials.

The Ministerial Committee formed by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit on Gaza on Saturday also urged the U.S. administration to "reconsider and reverse" its decision.

As of May 28, 2024, the State of Palestine was recognized by the vast majority of the UN member states, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported. The Palestinians have observer status at the UN.

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters)