President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanded his administration’s travel ban, barring holders of Palestinian Authority passports from entering the United States and adding five more nationalities to a list of countries facing full entry prohibitions.

The new restrictions, announced in a White House social media post and detailed in an accompanying fact sheet, are scheduled to take effect on January 1. The administration said the move is aimed at protecting U.S. national security by tightening entry standards for travelers from regions deemed unable to support reliable vetting.

In addition to Palestinian Authority passport holders, the ban will now apply to citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. Another 15 countries will face partial restrictions, including limits on certain visa categories.

“President Trump is acting to protect the security of the United States,” the White House said in its announcement, noting the policy is part of a broader effort to curb immigration risks tied to terrorism, fraud and weak governance.

The decision builds on a June proclamation in which Trump barred visitors from 12 countries and imposed heightened restrictions on travelers from seven others, a move that resurrected a hallmark policy from his first administration. Tuesday’s expansion significantly broadens the scope of that effort.

The inclusion of Palestinian Authority passport holders marks one of the most politically sensitive aspects of the new ban. According to the White House fact sheet, the administration cited the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the presence of U.S.-designated terrorist organizations in Palestinian population centers, and the Palestinian Authority’s limited control over territory and documentation.

“Several U.S.-designated terrorist groups operate actively in the West Bank or Gaza Strip and have murdered American citizens,” the fact sheet said. It added that the recent conflict has likely compromised vetting and screening capabilities.

“In light of these factors, and considering the weak or nonexistent control exercised over these areas by the PA, individuals attempting to travel on PA-issued or endorsed travel documents cannot currently be properly vetted and approved for entry into the United States,” the document said.

Palestinian Authority passports are most commonly held by residents of Gaza. Many Palestinians in the West Bank, where the PA is headquartered, also carry Jordanian passports, which are not affected by the ban.

The move follows reports earlier this fall that the U.S. had frozen most visa processing for applicants holding PA passports, including visas for medical treatment, higher education, business travel and family visits. That freeze reportedly did not apply to individuals who already possessed valid visas or to Palestinians holding a second passport and applying under that nationality.

Beyond the Palestinian territories, the administration said the newly banned countries suffer from “widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records, and nonexistent birth-registration systems,” conditions it argued make accurate vetting impossible.

Countries already subject to a full ban include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Heightened restrictions remain in place for visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

The administration also announced partial restrictions for an additional 15 countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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