The Trump administration has again denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to enter the United States for the United Nations General Assembly, keeping the Palestinian leader out of New York for the second consecutive year.
Abbas’s visa was rejected Wednesday as the State Department announced it would extend sanctions denying visas to Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders next week. Other Palestinian officials seeking to travel to the United States were also denied visas.
The State Department said the PA and PLO had “once again” failed to meet commitments made to the United States under the Palestinian Liberation Organization Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002.
The department cited the Palestinian leadership’s efforts to pursue the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through international organizations, including the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, attempts to obtain unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, continued payments to terrorists, and the glorification of terrorism in public statements and school textbooks.
“As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials,” the State Department said.
“It is in our national interest to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for glorifying terrorism.”
The Palestinian Authority’s “pay to slay” program drew outrage in 2016 after a Palestinian terrorist killed Taylor Force, a U.S. Army veteran, during a stabbing spree in Tel Aviv. Though the terrorist was killed during the attack, his family still received monthly payments from the PA’s Martyrs’ Fund. While the PA claimed in early 2025 that it was ending the program, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies reported that it only slightly restructured it.
The State Department did not specifically name Abbas in its statement, but Palestinian officials confirmed that the Palestinian leader was covered by the renewed restrictions. In response to the ban, the Palestinian Mission to the United Nations has submitted a resolution that would allow Abbas to address the General Assembly virtually, as he did last year, reported the Times of Israel.
The resolution is expected to come before the General Assembly on Thursday. Abbas is scheduled to speak on September 24, the same day as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The department said it would maintain a standing waiver for personnel assigned to the PLO Observer Mission to the United Nations, allowing the mission to continue operating in New York.
The Palestinian Authority criticized the latest decision, calling it “an unjustified measure that runs counter to efforts to rebuild trust, develop Palestinian-US relations, and create the necessary political climate for implementing the two-state solution and achieving peace and stability.”
Abbas is now in the 22nd year of what was originally a four-year presidential term after being elected on January 9, 2005. No presidential election has been held since. Abbas issued a decree in July setting November 28, 2026, as the date for legislative elections in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, with a presidential election scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
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