The US Department of State has canceled the visas of members of the Palestinian delegation expected to participate in the UN General Assembly. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
As a result of this decision, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and about 80 officials who were planned to accompany him were deprived of the opportunity to attend the international meeting to be held in New York City in September. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the Palestinian side of disrupting the peace process and attempting to unilaterally recognize the Palestinian state.
At the same time, the Department of State explained the visa cancellations as a policy to avoid encouraging terrorism. The Palestinian side, however, considered this step by the US to be contrary to the international agreement on the UN headquarters adopted in 1947.
Ahmad al-Dik, advisor to the Palestinian Foreign Minister, called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres and member states to pay serious attention to this issue. According to global media reports, as the country hosting the UN headquarters, the US is required to provide unhindered access to representatives of every country.
For this reason, Washington's decision against Palestine is being criticized by many countries. At the UN General Assembly meeting in September, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia may officially recognize the Palestinian state.
This situation forms the basis for viewing the US's controversial decision as a step against the process of recognizing Palestine as a state. The administration of President Donald Trump did not stop there and also halted the program for receiving wounded children from the Gaza Strip.
It should be recalled that since October 7, 2023, the US has been providing unconditional financial, military, and diplomatic support to Israel in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Palestinian casualties. Additionally, Washington firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state.
On April 18 last year, a resolution in the UN Security Council envisaging full membership for Palestine was vetoed and nullified specifically by the US. Later, at an extraordinary session of the UN General Assembly, the US also voted against Palestine's full accession to international organizations.
