The United States has imposed visa restrictions on officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), preventing them from attending the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The U.S. State Department announced the decision in a media note on Wednesday, accusing the Palestinian bodies of failing to meet commitments previously made to Washington.
In a report submitted to Congress, the department said the PA and PLO had violated provisions of the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002.
Washington also accused the Palestinian leadership of initiating or supporting international actions that it said conflicted with commitments contained in UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
The State Department criticised efforts to take the Israeli-Palestinian dispute to international institutions, particularly the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.
It further accused the PA and PLO of pursuing unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, providing stipends to individuals described by the U.S. as terrorists, and glorifying “acts of terrorism and terrorists” through public statements and school textbooks.
“The United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials in accordance with section 604(a)(1) of the MEPCA,” the State Department said.
The department described the restrictions as a consequence of what it called the Palestinian leadership’s failure to implement reforms agreed with the United States, as well as what it characterised as ongoing activities that undermine prospects for peace.
The decision means Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other PA and PLO officials will be unable to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly, scheduled to hold its high-level meetings from September 22 to 26.
The latest restrictions follow a similar move by the administration of President Donald Trump in August 2025, when the U.S. denied visas to 80 Palestinian officials ahead of that year’s UN high-level gathering.
The U.S. position comes amid continued international diplomatic efforts over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and competing approaches to Palestinian statehood and accountability through international institutions.
