US rejects Abbas’s entry visa, forcing him to address UN virtually for 2nd straight year — officials

For the second year in a row, the US has denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s visa application for entry into the country next week to speak at the UN General Assembly, a US official and a PA official tell The Times of Israel.

Abbas’s office was notified of the decision earlier today and similar rejections were issued for dozens of other PA officials who were hoping to travel with the president, the PA official says.

A second Palestinian official shared the rejection notice he received himself in which the reason marked was “Section 212(a)(3)(B) which prohibits the issuance of a visa to a person who at any time engaged in terrorist activities or was associated with a terrorist organization. This is a permanent ineligibility.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if Abbas’s own rejection was issued on the same grounds.

Against the backdrop of the ban, the Palestinian Mission to the UN has submitted a resolution that will be brought before the General Assembly tomorrow to allow Abbas to address the General Assembly virtually as he did last year.

US President Donald Trump’s administration justified the move last year by claiming that the PA had taken steps to undermine prospects for peace.

Washington didn’t elaborate at the time on its specific grievances with Ramallah, and the move was seen as part of an effort to undermine a conference that France and Saudi Arabia were hosting ahead of the General Assembly’s high-level week that was aimed at promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

No such meeting is being held this year, but the Trump administration continues to hold a cold relationship with the PA.