U.S. President Donald Trump denied visas last week to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other PA officials. This decision has turned around and caused serious political consequences. That’s exactly what Mahmoud Abbas has in mind for his upcoming speech at the United Nations General Assembly, beginning September 23. He should commit to holding the Palestinian Authority accountable for promoting peaceful solutions to the long-running conflict with Israel. The visa denial has crescendoed into a powerful campaign to relocate the one-day conference promoting a two-state solution. Now, organizers are urging that it be moved from New York to Geneva.
Mahmoud Abbas was scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London ahead of the UN assembly. The talks were supposedly intended to create an alternative Palestinian leadership. This topic is one of the most important issues in our current geopolitical environment. Meanwhile, Abbas is reportedly planning an aggressive speech at the UN. He should emphasize the PA’s unequivocal commitment to peaceful conflict resolution, especially when that message will win the PA invaluable support from local and global stakeholders.
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, declared that a momentous occasion. He announced that Abbas would be heading the Palestinian delegation at the high-level general debate during those UN meetings. That highly-anticipated speech was only one part of a much broader agenda. It meant active participation, for example, in a co-chaired France and Saudi Arabia meeting on the 22nd of September looking to renew efforts towards achieving a two-state solution.
In refusing the visas, the U.S. State Department made clear that they are committed to holding the Palestinian leadership accountable.
“It is in our national security interests to hold the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and the Palestinian Authority accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace.” – U.S. State Department
The department emphasized the need for Palestinian leadership to reject terrorism and stop incitement in schools.
“They must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO.” – U.S. State Department
This visa denial represents an ominous reminder of the infamous 1988 incident. At that time, Yasser Arafat, the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), was likewise banned from coming to New York. The U.S. government continues to use its authority to deny visas based on security, extremist, and foreign policy grounds. An agreement with the UN from 1947 sets a high standard of conduct for foreign diplomats. They ought to be able to routinely gain access to the UN in New York.
In light of these developments, calls have intensified for relocating the upcoming conference focused on a two-state solution from New York to Geneva. Advocates say that this step would increase engagement from Palestinian officials. These important representatives have been cut out as a result of visa refusals.
The ramifications of this development reach further than our short-term diplomatic relationship, as they express continued anger over the US support of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Observers note that any disruption in dialogue could hinder progress towards achieving lasting peace in the region.