Palestinian President

The Office of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the United States government on Saturday to reverse his decision to revoke his visa, weeks before he is destined to appear at the United Nations Annual Meeting and an International Conference on the creation of a Palestinian State.

The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, rescinded the visas of Abbas and another 80 officials before the high -level meeting of the UN General Assembly, the State Department revealed on Friday. The Palestinian representatives assigned to the UN mission received exceptions.

The measure is the last of a series of steps that the Trump administration has taken to attack the Palestinians with visa restrictions.

The State Department said in a statement that Rubio also ordered some new visa applications for Palestinian officials, including those linked to the Palestine Liberation Organization, to refuse.

“It is in our national security interests responsible for the PLO and AP for not fulfilling its commitments and to undermine the perspectives of peace,” the statement said.

The Palestinian authority denounced visa withdrawals as a violation of US commitments such as the United Nations host country.

Abbas has addressed the General Assembly for many years and generally leads the Palestinian delegation.

“We call on the US administration to reverse their decision. This decision will only increase tension and climbing,” said Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh to The News in Ramallah.

“We have been in contact since yesterday with Arab and foreign countries, especially those directly concerned about this problem. This effort will continue all day,” he said.

He urged other countries to press the Trump administration to reverse the decision.

EU countries back to the Palestinian leader

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot protested the restrictions on access to the UN General Assembly, and said he would discuss the problem with EU counterparts.

“The United Nations headquarters is a place of neutrality, a sanctuary dedicated to peace, where conflicts are resolved,” he said on Saturday. “The UN General Assembly … cannot suffer from access restrictions.”

The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said he spoke with Abbas on Saturday to tell him that Madrid supports him and called the negation of the visa as “unfair.”

“Palestine has the right to make your voice be heard in the United Nations and in all international forums,” he said in X.

The United States movement came as the Israeli army declared that Gaza’s largest city is a combat zone. Israel says that the city of Gaza is still a strength of Hamas.

• Palestine
• Palestinian authority
• United Nations General Assembly
• United States Department of State
• Marco Rubio
• United Nations