The Palestinian Authority said it “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the decision by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday to revoke the visas of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other PA officials.
According to the PA, the move “contravenes international law and the Headquarters Agreement, especially since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.”
Under a 1947 UN "headquarters agreement," the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. Washington, however, has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
The United States said it will not allow Abbas to travel to New York next month for a United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognize Palestine as a state.
A State Department official said Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.
The State Department justified its decision by reiterating longstanding US and Israeli allegations that the PA and PLO had failed to repudiate extremism while pushing for "unilateral recognition" of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian officials reject such allegations and say that decades of US-mediated talks have failed to end Israeli occupation and secure an independent state of Palestine.
"(It) is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace," the department said.
