UN allows Palestinian president to speak via video again after US denies visa
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
Item 1 of 2 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appears on a screen as he addresses delegates during a high-level meeting of heads of state on a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians at United Nations headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
[1/2]Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appears on a screen as he addresses delegates during a high-level meeting of heads of state on a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians at United Nations headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
The United Nations General Assembly voted on Thursday to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the annual gathering of world leaders next week via video – for the second year in a row – after the United States again denied him a visa to travel to New York.
The resolution received 152 votes in favor and three votes against, while four countries abstained. It also allows Abbas and any other high-level Palestinian officials to take part in U.N. meetings or conferences via video over the next year if they are prevented from traveling to the United States.
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The US said last year that Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by its decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. Washington announced on Wednesday that it had extended the visa bans.
“If the PA wants to be treated as a partner, it must stop subsidizing terror and stop using diplomatic theater as a substitute for serious governance,” Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce told the assembly before the vote.
Palestinian leaders rejected and condemned the move by the United States, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told the General Assembly.
Without naming specific officials, the US State Department said on Wednesday it would extend visa sanctions against Palestinian officials over actions they took to “internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” including pursuing cases against Israel at international tribunals.
A Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed Abbas’ visa had been denied.
Under a 1947 U.N. “headquarters agreement,” the U.S. is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. However, Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
Reference Link:- https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-allows-palestinian-president-again-speak-via-video-after-us-denies-visa-2026-09-17/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
