US Extends Visa Restrictions on Abbas and Other Palestinian Officials Before UN Assembly
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The Facts
- The State Department extended visa restrictions on Palestinian Authority officials and Palestine Liberation Organization members.
- The restrictions prevent Mahmoud Abbas from attending next week’s UN General Assembly in New York.
- Abbas is president of the Palestinian Authority and leads the Palestine Liberation Organization.
- This is the second consecutive year the United States has denied Abbas a visa for the UN General Assembly.
- The State Department said the Palestinian Authority and PLO had not met commitments related to peace efforts.
- The State Department cited Palestinian legal actions against Israel at international courts among its reasons.
- Palestinian diplomats already accredited to the United Nations remain able to represent Palestinians at the meeting.
Context
Why did the United States extend the visa restrictions?
The State Department said the Palestinian Authority and PLO had failed to carry out commitments related to peace efforts. It also cited their pursuit of legal cases against Israel in international courts and efforts to obtain unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. NDTV Newsweek
Can Palestinians still participate in the UN General Assembly?
Palestinian diplomats who are already accredited to the United Nations can continue representing Palestinians at the meeting, although Abbas cannot attend in person under the visa restrictions. MoneyControl India Today
Has Abbas addressed the assembly remotely before?
Abbas addressed the General Assembly by video last year after he was denied a US visa, and reports said he could again seek to participate remotely. Haber7.com MoneyControl
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both sides accept that the State Department extended the ban partly because of Palestinian legal actions against Israel at international courts, and that accredited diplomats can still speak at the UN.
- Where Left and Right split
- A weaker party being penalized for using international law, or the Palestinian Authority failing to meet peace commitments it agreed to keep.
- Why they won’t converge
- The divide is one of values: whether pursuing legal claims against Israel at international courts is a legitimate exercise of a weaker party's rights or a violation of prior political commitments that forfeits privileges, a disagreement no fact about the ban itself resolves.
- Watch for
- Watch whether Abbas submits a video statement to the UN General Assembly next week in place of an in-person address, as reported ahead of the meeting.Deutsche Welle
How left and right read it
Turning to courts instead of arms is exactly what a weaker party is supposed to do, so punishing it inverts the rule of law. Yet the State Department named Palestinian legal actions against Israel at international courts among its grounds for extending these restrictions, keeping Abbas from the General Assembly a second straight year. That is a penalty for using law. Lift the ban and let him speak.
“The Trump administration opposes Palestinians trying to bring cases to that court or the International Court of Justice.” — The New York Times
Commitments mean nothing if breaking them costs nothing, which is exactly what is at stake in extending these visa restrictions a second straight year. The State Department did not act on a whim; it said the Palestinian Authority and PLO had not met their peace-related commitments, and it cited their legal campaigns against Israel at international courts. Palestinian diplomats already accredited can still speak for Palestinians at the meeting, so nothing is silenced. The question worth pressing: what has Abbas actually delivered to earn the privilege back?
The receipts — all 143 sources
Wire services (13)
Independent coverage (50)
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