US again denies Palestinian leader Abbas visa to attend UN assembly

The United States has denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas an entry visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York. According to the US State Department, the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization have failed to live up to their obligations, citing breaches of the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002.

The US State Department accused the Palestinian Authority and the PLO of taking actions that undermine the prospects for peace, including internationalizing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, and paying stipends to terrorists. The Department also cited the glorification of "acts of terrorism and terrorists" in comments and school textbooks.

As a consequence of their failure to reform, the US will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials. According to DW News, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will likely submit a video statement for the UN General Assembly gathering.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Daily Times, Daily Post Nigeria, DW News, DW English (Top Stories) — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.