The US government has revoked Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's visa. This will hinder him from attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The processing of visa applications for travellers with Palestinian passports has been temporarily suspended, too.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's visa revoked
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's visa. As a consequence, Abbas will not be able to attend the important annual United Nations meeting to be held in New York end of September. Abbas was to head a delegation and speak personally at the General Assembly. In addition, consultations had been scheduled with representatives from France and Saudi Arabia concerning a solution involving the creation of two states. Although Palestine is not a member of the United Nations, it has official observer status, meaning they can participate in meetings but cannot vote on resolutions.
In addition to Abbas' visa, the US visas of 80 other Palestinian officials have also been revoked. These include members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the organisation that advocates for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and members of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the administrative body that exercises authority over areas of Palestine. According to Rubio, both institutions undermine the prospects for peace, and the withdrawal of visas is necessary to ensure US national security.
Suspension of visa applications for Palestinians
US visa regulations have been tightened not only for politicians, but for all Palestinian passport holders in general. In August, the Trump administration announced measures to temporarily suspend the processing of visa applications for most of these individuals. The US State Department has sent a memo to US consulates and embassies around the world instructing them to reject visa applications from Palestinian passport holders.
These are requests for non-immigrant visas, ie: visitor visas for a temporary stay in the United States, for example, for holidays, studies or business trips. The suspension also applies to applications from persons with diplomatic and official passports. Applications for permanent visas (immigrant visas) will continue to be processed. Palestinians who hold passports from other countries may continue to apply for US visas, although they may be rejected if they are suspected of having ties to the PLO or the Palestinian Authority.
Criticism
The decision to revoke the visas of Abbas and other Palestinian officials has sparked numerous protests internationally. Spokespeople for the Palestinian Authority have already asked the US government to reverse the decision. Critical voices have also been heard in some sectors in Europe. The EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, has urged the United States to reconsider the measure. According to Kallas, the US government's decision contravenes international law. In her opinion, the United States, as the host country of the United Nations, cannot deny visas to officials who wish to attend the General Assembly. It is not known when visa applications for Palestinian travellers will be processed again.