US denies Mahmoud Abbas UN visa again

The United States has denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly, alongside dozens of other Palestinian officials, according to Euronews. It is the second consecutive year Washington has blocked Abbas from attending the annual gathering in person, with Palestinian diplomats already accredited to the UN expected to represent the Palestinians on the floor.

The State Department framed the decision as an enforcement step tied to earlier commitments “to seek peace with Israel,” and said it had extended sanctions that deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority officials. A notice cited by a Palestinian official referenced Section 212(a)(3)(B) of US immigration law, a provision that bars visas for individuals engaged in terrorist activity or associated with terrorist organisations. The Palestinian Authority condemned the move as unjustified and said it undermined efforts to rebuild trust and improve Palestinian–US relations.

The practical effect is less about silencing the Palestinian seat at the UN than about controlling who can use the General Assembly’s highest-visibility stage. Euronews reports Abbas is again expected to address the assembly remotely by video, as he did in 2025, and the General Assembly is expected to vote on a measure to allow his remote participation—an arrangement first used last year. The US will also maintain a waiver allowing the Palestinian Mission to the UN to continue operating from New York, preserving day-to-day diplomatic functions while restricting senior political travel.

The timing matters. Several key UN member states are expected to recognise a Palestinian state at the 2026 General Assembly, Euronews reports, a process that accelerated after France’s recognition in 2025 and subsequent moves by the United Kingdom, Australia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Portugal, Malta and Canada. With four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council now recognising Palestine, the General Assembly has become a venue where recognition and diplomatic status can be advanced even when the Security Council is deadlocked. A visa denial does not stop votes, but it does limit the ability of Palestinian leadership to lobby in person, meet delegations on the margins, and generate the kind of optics that can shift domestic politics in capitals far from the region.

Abbas will still be present in the UN’s proceedings, just not in New York. For a second year, the United States is leaving the Palestinian flag and mission in place while keeping the Palestinian president off the plane.