The United States has again denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to travel to New York for the U.N. General Assembly, extending a ban that has been in place since last year. The decision comes days before world leaders gather for the annual meeting.
The State Department cited the PLO and PA’s failure to reform, including actions to internationalize the conflict through the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and efforts to bypass negotiations by seeking unilateral recognition. It also cited continued stipends to terrorists and the glorification of terrorism in public statements and school textbooks.
On that basis, the department said the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials under section 604(a)(1) of the Middle East Peace Commitments Act. The action rests on federal law, not an improvised policy.
The department also maintained a standing waiver for personnel notified to the PLO’s Observer Mission at the United Nations. Diplomats already accredited to the U.N. are therefore not shut out.
The U.N. general debate runs Sept. 22 to 26 and again on Sept. 28, and Abbas had been scheduled to speak Thursday, Sept. 24.
The General Assembly has already moved to work around the denial. It voted 152 to 3, with four abstentions, to let Abbas address the gathering by video for the second year in a row. The resolution also lets high-level Palestinian officials join U.N. meetings by video over the next year if they cannot travel to the United States.
The three votes against were cast by the United States, Israel and Paraguay. Colombia, Honduras, Panama and Peru abstained.
Washington used the vote to press its point. Deputy U.S. Ambassador Tammy Bruce told the assembly the PA must stop subsidizing terror and stop treating “diplomatic theater” as a substitute for serious governance if it wants to be treated as a partner.
Israel’s ambassador struck the same note. Danny Danon said that as long as Abbas keeps making payments to terrorists and their families, the world should not expect Israel to ignore it, and that Abbas will send videos instead of coming to New York.
The policy did not begin this year. In August 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed off on denying and revoking visas for PLO and PA members ahead of that year’s General Assembly, including for Abbas.
Officials acknowledged in internal documents that Washington had never before barred an entire delegation from the General Assembly. They said the step was justified because Palestinian leaders planned to use the forum to push a “constitutional declaration” of independence, which the U.S. viewed as a propaganda victory for Hamas and a threat to ceasefire talks.
The same documents described enforcing the visa bans as a “low-cost, high-impact action” to reinforce U.S. policy. They also warned that granting waivers would undermine the credibility of existing sanctions.
The State Department’s spokesman said at the time that the PA and PLO must repudiate terrorism, end their legal campaigns at the ICC and ICJ, and drop the push for unilateral statehood recognition. He added: “The Trump Administration does not reward terrorism.” He also said the United States remains open to re-engagement if the PA and PLO take concrete steps.
Last year the U.N. voted 145 to 5 to let Abbas speak remotely, after the U.S. barred entry for about 80 Palestinians. This year’s vote shows the pattern has settled into a routine.
The “pay for slay” issue sits at the center of the dispute. The label refers to payments to terrorists, which the U.S. has cited in sanctioning the Palestinian Authority. Supporters of the policy argue that no government should be treated as a normal peace partner while it subsidizes people who attack civilians.
