Trump administration moves to block Palestinian President Abbas from addressing UN for 2nd year
The Trump administration intends to block Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas from addressing the UN General Assembly in New York next month, a U.S. official told The Times of Israel.
The UN has invited Abbas to address the General Assembly (UNGA) on Sept. 24. This would be the second consecutive year that Washington has prevented the PA leader from addressing the UNGA in person.
“We take seriously our obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement. As host country to the UN, we have provided guidance to all UN Member States on recommended timelines for visa applications ahead of the start of the 81st UN General Assembly session,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.
The spokesperson neither denied nor explicitly confirmed that Washington had blocked Abbas from traveling to New York.
“As a general matter, we have no comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases due to visa record confidentiality,” the spokesperson continued. “The Foreign Missions Act authorizes the secretary of state to impose restrictions or conditions on the travel within the United States of foreign mission members.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized the PA’s “pay-for-slay” policy of financially rewarding terrorists and their families, arguing that it encourages terrorism and undermines prospects for peace. Washington has consequently sought to hold the PA accountable and has significantly reduced its financial assistance, further straining the Ramallah-based authority’s already weak economy.
Last year, Washington revoked the visas of Abbas and dozens of PA officials as several Western nations moved to unilaterally recognize a “Palestinian state,” a move opposed by both Washington and Jerusalem.
The visa revocations came as France and Saudi Arabia co-chaired a UN conference aimed at advancing the establishment of a Palestinian state and promoting a two-state solution. The Trump administration and Israel opposed the initiative, arguing that advancing Palestinian statehood while Hamas continued to hold Israeli hostages in Gaza and wage war against Israel would reward the Hamas terrorist organization for the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and undermine efforts to end the conflict.
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the U.S. State Department said in August 2025.
No similar French-Saudi conference is scheduled at the UN this year. Nevertheless, Washington appears intent on maintaining its pressure on Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, particularly over the PA’s longstanding financial support for terrorists and their families.
Abbas, who has strained relations with Washington, asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to reverse the ban, a PA official told The Times of Israel. Erdoğan reportedly spoke with Trump by phone on Tuesday but failed to change the U.S. president’s position.
Following last year’s UN entry ban, Abbas eventually addressed the UNGA virtually from his office in Ramallah. The UN had voted 145-5 to allow him and other affected Palestinian officials to participate remotely.
An Israeli study published last month found that Western aid, particularly from European countries, had helped prevent the PA from collapsing financially during the three years since the Oct. 7 terror attack. The study found that European and World Bank assistance had helped keep the PA financially afloat despite declining revenues, mounting debt and growing economic pressure.
