US to refuse visas to Palestinian Authority officials

WASHINGTON

Washington said on July 31 it would deny visas to Palestinian Authority officials and sharply criticized the body which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, just as multiple U.S. allies move to recognize Palestinian statehood.

The State Department did not specify who was being targeted, only saying it would deny visas to "members" of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and "officials" from the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The organizations are "taking actions to internationalize its conflict with Israel such as through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ)," the State Department said in a statement.

It also accused the groups of "continuing to support terrorism including incitement and glorification of violence," and of "providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families."

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the U.S. sanctions, saying the gesture displayed "moral clarity."

The measures against the PA, whose leader Mahmud Abbas has been widely recognized for years as a key partner in efforts to resolve the conflict, come as growing numbers of countries consider recognizing a Palestinian state.

Canada and France are among the latest nations to announce they will grant recognition during the UN General Assembly meeting which takes place in September in New York.

The U.S. visa denials could possibly complicate attendance to the meeting by Palestinian leaders.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the move was necessary to preserve hopes of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a long-standing Canadian goal that was "being eroded before our eyes."

"Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025," the prime minister said.

This makes Canada, a G7 nation, the third country, following recent announcements by France and the United Kingdom, to signal plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September.

Carney said the worsening suffering of civilians in Gaza left "no room for delay in coordinated international action to support peace."

Israel blasted Canada's announcement as part of a "distorted campaign of international pressure," while Trump warned that trade negotiations with Ottawa may not proceed smoothly.

The PA is a civilian ruling authority in areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where about three million Palestinians live, as well as around half a million Israelis occupying settlements considered illegal under international law.

Hamas governs the Gaza Strip, which has been engulfed in a devastating Israeli military campaign ever since the militant group launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The United States is also ratcheting up pressure on the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Saar accused the Palestinian Authority of paying "terrorists" and their families for attacks against Israeli targets and of inciting people against Israel in schools, textbooks, mosques, and Palestinian media.

"This important action by President Trump and his administration also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that rushed to recognize a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to the PA's support for terrorism and incitement," Saar wrote on X.