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The U.S. visa cancellations for Palestinians mark another step towards West Bank annexation.

Mondoweiss, 7 Sept 25

The cancellation of visas for Palestinian officials is part of a a wider effort by Israel and the U.S. to prevent international recognition of a Palestinian state, and to further Trump’s grandiose plans for Gaza and Israel’s plans for the West Bank.

Mondoweiss, By Mitchell Plitnick ,  September 5, 2025  

Last week, the U.S. State Department revoked visas for leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. That effectively blocked them from attending the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session in New York.

Abbas had hoped to address the assembly, where France and Saudi Arabia are planning to co-chair a meeting intended to salvage the long-dead and mythical “two-state solution.” The assembly is also expected to see a number of European states respond to Israel’s genocide in Gaza with recognition of Palestinian statehood. Of course, the recognition is largely symbolic and ineffective,  given that no Palestinian state actually exists, thanks to Israel.

The U.S. claims its decision is based on “security concerns,” but this is obviously nonsense. A delegation from the PLO or Palestinian Authority presents no security issues. On the contrary, Abbas has lost all the legitimacy he once had many years ago due to his kowtowing to Israeli demands and American pressure in the vain hope that this would win the Palestinians some concessions toward self-governance.

The entirely predictable, and predicted, outcome of the PA’s quisling behavior is that Israel and the United States, under successive administrations and through years of congressional formations, routinely degrade and condescend to it, and offer it no boon or rewards for its genuflection. 

The PA has seen Israel seize its tax revenues, and it continues to be demonized as a terrorist organization by virtue of nothing more than being Palestinian. Meanwhile, the Palestinian people living under its threadbare “authority” have lost all faith in the PA after years of “security coordination” with Israel, corruption, ineffective governance, and significant human rights violations against Palestinians, often in service of Israeli concerns and interests. 

So no, it is not about the PA being a security threat. This was about sending messages to states recognizing Palestine as a state, and laying the groundwork for continuing the Gaza genocide and moving annexation forward on the West Bank.

When Reagan tried to stifle Yasser Arafat

This isn’t the first time the United States has abused its position as custodian of the United Nations building in New York to prevent a Palestinian leader from addressing the General Assembly. But the circumstances and, especially, the result, were very different the last time.

In November 1988, as Ronald Reagan was serving out the lame duck period of his second term as president, Secretary of State George Shultz denied visas to Yasser Arafat and his PLO delegation, preventing them from addressing the UN General Assembly. The technical excuse Shultz invoked — security concerns — was the same one the current Secretary, Marco Rubio, is using to block Abbas from speaking at the UN. 

Other circumstances were markedly different……………………………………………………………………………………………. https://mondoweiss.net/2025/09/the-u-s-visa-cancellations-for-palestinians-marks-another-the-step-towards-west-bank-annexation/

September 8, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | MIDDLE EAST, politics international, USA