US Extends Visa Sanctions for Palestinian Officials, Mahmoud Abbas Barred from UN Speech

The United States Department of State has extended visa sanctions against officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This decision prohibits Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from travelling to New York to attend the United Nations (UN) General Assembly next week, marking the second consecutive year of such a restriction.

“As a consequence of their failure to reform, which is contrary to their commitments to the United States, as well as their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the US will extend the visa denial sanctions for members of the PLO and PA officials,” the US State Department stated in a declaration, as quoted by Al Jazeera on Wednesday (16/09/2026).

The US State Department alleges that the PA has violated US law by seeking international recognition for a Palestinian state outside of direct negotiation channels. The US also highlighted the PA’s decision to bring its disputes with Israel to international courts and its provision of payments to the families of individuals whom the US and Israel claim were perpetrators of attacks.

Nevertheless, the PA Mission to the UN continues to receive waivers under the UN Headquarters Agreement. This allows regular PA staff to continue working in New York, even though individual officials are prohibited from entering the US.

Abbas’s speech this year was intended to urge international recognition of a Palestinian state and to revitalise the momentum for a two-state solution. This follows a wave of official recognitions throughout this month from the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and other Western governments.

Furthermore, Abbas was scheduled to draw global attention to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the rapid expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, and the pogroms carried out by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.