US bars Palestinian leader Abbas from United Nations

The United States has barred Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from attending next month’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, where several American allies are expected to recognise Palestine as a state.

A State Department official said the decision would affect Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians, including members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, through the denial and revocation of visas.

Abbas had planned to take part in the high-level UN gathering in Manhattan, as well as a summit where Britain, France, Australia, and Canada are set to formally recognise a Palestinian state.

His office, however, described Washington’s move as astonishing, insisting it violated the U.N. “headquarters agreement”. 

The 1947 accord requires the U.S. to grant access to foreign diplomats attending the UN, though Washington argues visas can be denied for reasons of security, extremism or foreign policy.

Palestinian presidential spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, on Saturday urged the U.S. to reconsider. 

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“We call on the U.S. administration to reverse this decision, which contradicts international law, specifically the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States, which prohibits preventing any delegation from access,” he told Reuters.

According to Reuters, the decision has also triggered criticism in Europe. Foreign ministers arriving at a European Union meeting in Copenhagen faulted Washington’s stance. 

French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said a UN General Assembly “cannot be subject to any restrictions on access”. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris urged the EU to protest “in the strongest possible terms”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, in a statement on Saturday, said he had spoken with Abbas to express Madrid’s support and described the visa ban as “unjust”.

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