The Trump administration has denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to enter the United States for next week’s United Nations General Assembly, forcing him to address the gathering virtually for the second consecutive year. Dozens of other Palestinian Authority officials who planned to travel with Abbas were also denied visas, The Times of Israel reported Wednesday.

Abbas’s office was notified of the decision earlier Wednesday. One Palestinian official shared his own rejection notice, which cited U.S. immigration law barring entry to individuals who have engaged in terrorist activity or were associated with a terrorist organization. The notice described the official as permanently ineligible for a U.S. visa. It remains unclear whether Abbas himself was denied entry on the same grounds.

Following the decision, the Palestinian Mission to the UN submitted a resolution seeking permission for Abbas to address the General Assembly virtually, as he did last year after the U.S. similarly denied him entry.

The Trump administration said last year that the Palestinian Authority had taken steps that undermined prospects for peace. The latest denial comes as relations between Washington and the Palestinian Authority remain strained ahead of the UN General Assembly’s annual high-level gathering in New York.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)