US again denies Palestinian leader Abbas visa to attend UN assembly

The United States has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week. According to a source familiar with the case, the US State Department has also said it would deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and officials with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The State Department cited the PLO and PA's failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the US, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace. The department also accused them of taking actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, and seeking unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

This is not the first time the US has taken this step. According to the Malay Mail and National Post, the Trump administration denied Abbas a visa last year, forcing him to address the UN General Assembly via video.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Daily Maverick, France 24, Malay Mail, National Post — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.