By Elham Asaad Buaras
London, (The Muslim News): The United States barred Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from next month’s UN General Assembly session in New York, revoking his visa along with those of 80 other Palestinian officials. The State Department confirmed the move, which drew sharp condemnation from Ramallah and raised questions over Washington’s compliance with international obligations.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, defended the decision, accusing the Palestinian leadership of undermining peace efforts and pushing for “the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state”. He argued that Palestinian representatives already stationed at the UN mission in New York could still attend meetings under the UN Headquarters Agreement, which governs the organisation’s operations in the US.
However, legal experts and Palestinian officials point out that the same agreement requires the US to allow entry for all foreign officials invited to UN sessions, “irrespective of the relations” between their governments and Washington. The Palestinian Authority described the visa cancellations as “astonishing” and in “clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, particularly since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.”
The ban comes as France leads a new diplomatic push to secure recognition of Palestinian statehood at the General Assembly. The UK, Canada, and Australia have also pledged support. Currently, 147 of the UN’s 193 member states recognise Palestine. Yet with no defined borders, Israeli illegal occupation over much of the West Bank, and continued settlement expansion, international recognition remains largely symbolic.
Israel welcomed Washington’s move, with Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, praising the decision. Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterated his opposition to a two-state solution, insisting that recognising a Palestinian state would reward “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”. He has long rejected the international consensus advocating an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The dispute over Abbas’s exclusion coincides with Israel’s intensifying military campaign in Gaza. According to Gaza’s health ministry, 61 Palestinians were killed on Friday alone in airstrikes across the enclave, while five others, including two children, died of starvation as famine tightens its grip. In total, 322 people, among them 121 children, are now confirmed to have died from hunger and malnutrition.
The bombardment has been devastating. Families in Rafah, Khan Younis, and Gaza City were killed in strikes on displacement camps and shelters, while nine Palestinians waiting for aid were shot dead in separate incidents. Homes in Jabalia, Deir al-Balah, Tel al-Hawa, and al-Sudaniya were also destroyed.
Medical officials warned that many victims remain trapped under rubble, unreachable amid ongoing attacks
Israeli operations have forced mass displacement from Gaza City’s northeastern districts, flattening entire neighbourhoods. A Palestinian security source said conditions were deteriorating “at a rapidly accelerating pace” as Israel escalated demolitions with airstrikes, artillery, and explosive-laden robots.
Nearly one million Palestinians remain trapped inside what Israel has declared a “dangerous combat zone”.
The current offensive is part of an Israeli plan, approved earlier this month, to gradually reoccupy Gaza, beginning with its largest urban centre.
The humanitarian crisis has deepened legal scrutiny of Israel’s conduct. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his then Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also facing proceedings at the International Court of Justice, where it stands accused of genocide.
UN officials warned that excluding Palestine from the upcoming General Assembly sets a troubling precedent. Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric emphasised: “All member states and permanent observers must be able to be represented, especially in this case with the upcoming two-state solution meeting that France and Saudi Arabia will host at the beginning of the GA.”
[Photo: Close family members of Palestinians killed by Israeli bombings mourn as their dear ones are brought to Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for funeral procedures by their relatives following the Israeli attacks on a tent belonging to the Nassar family in Gaza City, Gaza on August 29, 2025. Photojournalist: Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/AA]
