The United States has decided to block Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a delegation of around 80 officials from traveling to New York to attend next month’s UN General Assembly meetings.
The move comes amid threats from several U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom and France, to officially recognize the State of Palestine during the summit.
The U.S. State Department justified the decision on “security grounds,” accusing the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization of failing to “renounce terrorism” and pursuing what it called “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state. It added that the restrictions do not apply to the Palestinian permanent mission to the UN.
President Abbas’s office condemned the measure, calling it a “violation of the UN Headquarters Agreement,” which obliges the United States to allow diplomats access to the international body’s headquarters.
