US extends ban on Palestinians scheduled to attend UN General Assembly
The United States has extended its ban on Palestinians scheduled to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The US State Department announced on Wednesday that it will extend visa sanctions denying entry to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The US State Department claimed the PLO and PA politicians were paying stipends to what it described as "terrorists", and making efforts to defend and glorify "terrorism" in Palestine.
The State Department said it reported to Congress that the PLO and PA had again failed to meet its commitments to the US government, citing actions at international organizations including "taking actions to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ)."
The Palestinian officials’ aim to "bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition" of the State of Palestine, it added.
“As a consequence of their failure to reform ... the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials,” the department said in a statement.
The measures come just days ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York for the 81st session of the UNGA.
Last year, the US State Department made a similar move against the Palestinian delegation scheduled to attend the 2025 General Assembly.
This year's UN General Assembly begins next week in New York.
Palestine is currently a non-member observer state.
An application to become a full UN member needs to be approved by the Security Council and then at least two-thirds of the UN General Assembly.
After the initial bid for full UN membership was rejected in 2011, the Palestinians went to the 193-member UN General Assembly, where there are no vetoes. They succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a UN observer to a non-member observer state in November 2012.
That change opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join the UN and other international organizations, including the ICC and ICJ.
At least 140 world countries have recognized a Palestinian state. They include members of the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the 120-member Nonaligned Movement. However, the United States has vowed to block any attempt at full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations.
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