Story perspectives

U.S. Denies Abbas Visas for UN General Assembly

By Drooid · Sep 17, 2026, 10:46 PM UTC · How we work

Left

UN agreement breach

The U.S. State Department denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend next week’s UN General Assembly in New York.
Critics say the denial harms the two-state peace effort and breaches the UN headquarters agreement obliging the United States to admit invited delegates.
The General Assembly voted 152-3-4 to let Abbas speak by video.
France’s foreign minister urged United States to reverse the denial under the UN agreement.

Right

Stipends Trigger Visa Ban

The U.S. State Department denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation visas for the UN General Assembly in New York.
It marks the second consecutive year the Trump administration has blocked Palestinian Authority visas for the UN General Assembly.
The department said the PA pays terrorist stipends, a justification for the visa refusal.
It also claimed the PA and PLO use international law-fare and pursue unilateral Palestinian statehood.

Blindspot

Critics say the visa denial violates the U.N. headquarters agreement that obliges the United States to admit invited delegates and undermines the two-state peace effort, according to the left-leaning sources.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Right-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

In September 1993 Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo I Accord, the first mutual recognition and a five-year interim framework that created the Palestinian Authority. The accord sparked $40 billion of international aid and set a pattern of U.S. diplomatic leverage. In 2024 the U.S. State Department barred Mahmoud Abbas from the UN General Assembly, prompting France’s foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné to demand reversal.

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UN agreement breach

The U.S. State Department denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend next week’s UN General Assembly in New York.
Critics say the denial harms the two-state peace effort and breaches the UN headquarters agreement obliging the United States to admit invited delegates.
The General Assembly voted 152-3-4 to let Abbas speak by video.
France’s foreign minister urged United States to reverse the denial under the UN agreement.

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