UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday criticized the US decision to deny Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas a visa for the second year in a row, preventing him from attending next week’s UN General Assembly in person.
Guterres “deeply regrets” Washington’s decision, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “The Secretary-General is concerned about the impact of this decision on the ability of the State of Palestine to participate fully in the work of the United Nations,” Dujarric said in a statement.
The State Department announced Wednesday that visa sanctions against Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) members and PA officials would be extended, meaning Abbas will again be unable to attend the General Assembly in person.
Washington said the decision was based on the PA’s failure to fulfill commitments it had made to the United States. The administration cited US laws prohibiting the PA from using international organizations to target Israel, seeking unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, paying stipends to terrorists and glorifying violence.
“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.
The US nevertheless said it would maintain a waiver permitting staff from the PA Mission to the UN to continue operating in New York despite the wider visa restrictions.
In response to Washington’s decision, the UN General Assembly voted Thursday to permit Abbas to deliver his address to next week’s high-level session remotely. The measure passed by a vote of 152-3, with four countries abstaining. The United States, Paraguay and Israel voted against it.
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, criticized the decision and said Abbas bears responsibility for changing the Palestinian Authority’s policies.
“As long as Abbas continues his policy of making payments to terrorists and their families, he cannot expect the international community to simply ignore it. Instead of coming to New York, he will send videos. The responsibility for changing this policy is in his hands.”
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
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