The U.S. government has just slammed the door on senior Palestinian leaders hoping to waltz into the United Nations General Assembly next month, according to Breitbart.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Friday that visas are being denied and revoked for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA), including Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, due to their plans to push for a unilateral declaration of statehood without negotiating with Israel.
This isn’t just a random bureaucratic snag; it’s a deliberate stance rooted in U.S. law and policy under the Trump Administration.
The backstory here is simple but loaded: Palestinian leaders signaled their intent to bypass direct talks with Israel and declare a state on their own terms at the upcoming UN gathering.
That move, as Rubio’s State Department made crystal clear, violates long-standing U.S. principles that demand a negotiated settlement for peace. Breitbart News had already hinted back in July that such a ban was coming, thanks to sanctions imposed by President Trump on the PA over this very issue.
The State Department didn’t mince words in its Friday statement: “In accordance with U.S. law, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is denying and revoking visas from members of the PLO and PA.”
Let’s unpack that—Washington isn’t playing games when it says it’s holding these groups accountable for dodging their commitments and undermining any shot at real peace.
It’s a sharp reminder that unilateral actions, like seeking statehood without dialogue, aren’t just frowned upon; they’re a direct affront to U.S. national security interests.
The State Department further emphasized that the PLO and PA must “repudiate terrorism” and halt incitement in education before they’re seen as credible partners.
That’s a tall order when you consider their track record, including silence on atrocities like the October 7 massacre and ongoing lawfare tactics at places like the International Criminal Court.
These stances, as the U.S. sees it, have only fueled Hamas’s stubbornness on hostages and derailed ceasefire efforts in Gaza—hardly a recipe for trust.
This visa crackdown isn’t just a symbolic slap; it could seriously derail the Palestinians’ hopes of securing statehood recognition from nations like France, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
While the PA Mission to the UN gets a pass under the UN Headquarters Agreement, key figures like Abbas are left out in the cold, unable to push their agenda in person. One has to wonder if this isn’t a wake-up call for those leaders to rethink their strategy—bypassing negotiations hasn’t exactly won them friends in Washington.
Here’s the olive branch: the U.S. remains willing to re-engage with the PA and PLO, but only if they step up with concrete actions toward compromise and coexistence with Israel.
That means no more sidestepping talks with international campaigns or turning a blind eye to violence—it’s a non-negotiable baseline for any future partnership. Until then, the message from Rubio and company is clear: the door to the U.S. is locked, and the key lies in genuine reform, not grandstanding at the UN.