UN chief 'deeply regrets' US visa refusal to Abbas for annual meeting

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "deeply regrets" Washington's decision to deny a visa for the second year running to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, a UN spokesman said Friday, preventing him from attending the UN General Assembly.

The US State Department said Thursday it was refusing to grant visas to Abbas and other Palestinian officials for next week's assembly. Only members of the Palestinian mission to the UN will be able to attend the meeting, which begins Tuesday.

"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," Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

"The full participation of all delegations in the work of the Organization is essential to its proper functioning."

Guterres continues to urge the United States, as the host country, "to ensure that visas are issued to all delegations in accordance with its obligations," the spokesman said.

The UN chief "will continue to engage with the United States authorities to this end," he added.

The Trump administration also denied visas for the Palestinian delegation last year, forcing Abbas, a regular at the UN General Assembly, to address the body of global leadership by video.

The General Assembly voted 152-3 on Thursday for Abbas to be able to appear virtually once again this year.

The United States and Israel have objected to the Palestinian Authority's historical payments to families of imprisoned or slain Palestinians, including those who carried out attacks against Israelis.

The PA recently reformed this system, allocating welfare payments to families on a needs basis rather than political affiliation or prisoner status.

The State Department said Washington also opposed Palestinian "actions to internationalise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking to bypass negotiations through seeking unilateral recognition."

They accused them of "continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and to glorify acts of terrorism and terrorists in public pronouncements and school textbooks."

The United States is at odds with the 142 UN member states that recognised a Palestinian state at the United Nations last year.

'Acts of terrorism'

The decision to deny Abbas a US entry visa comes as violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has escalated in recent months in the West Bank.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has surged since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.

According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,109 Palestinians in the West Bank -- fighters and civilians -- since the 2023 attack, which killed more than 1,200 people.

In retaliation, Israel waged relentless strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 73,821 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The international community has expressed concern over the violence, but the United States has remained largely quiet on the issue, saying only that the US government opposes any annexation of Palestinian territory.