US Denies Abbas Entry Visa for Second Straight Year; UN General Assembly Votes 152-3 to Let Him Address Body by Video

The US State Department announced on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 that it would again deny Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas an entry visa to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly's annual leaders' week, extending broader visa sanctions against PLO and PA officials. The department said the measures respond to Palestinian officials' 'failure to reform,' their pursuit of statehood recognition and legal action against Israel at international tribunals 'to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,' and payments to individuals it labels attackers. On Thursday, September 17, the UN General Assembly voted 152 to 3, with 4 abstentions, to again allow Abbas to address the gathering by prerecorded video message -- the second consecutive year he has been barred from attending in person. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the resolution as 'breaking of the attempt to prevent Palestine's participation' and reaffirmed reliance on 'political, legal and diplomatic means.' Amnesty International condemned the US visa denial as a 'clear violation of the UN Headquarters Agreement,' saying Washington was misusing its host-country privileges to restrict UN participation in a manner not applied to Israeli officials.