US Extends Visa Restrictions on Abbas and Other Palestinian Officials Before UN Assembly

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