Mahmoud Abbas addresses UN General Assembly by video after US visa denial

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a recorded address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday after the United States denied visas to him and his delegation. He was not present in the chamber, and his speech was instead transmitted to delegates. Abbas used the appearance to criticise the visa decision and to accuse Israel of deepening the fragmentation of Palestinian territory.

Sponsored

Abbas said the denial of entry amounted to a breach of the obligations of the United States as host country for the General Assembly. He argued that Palestinians and their leadership should not be punished for demanding an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. He also denounced the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying that the Palestinian territory was being fragmented.

The visa refusal was the second consecutive year in which Abbas was unable to attend the annual gathering in New York. In 2025, the same administration also denied him a visa, while in 2024 he was able to travel to New York under the previous US administration. The speech came as settlement expansion in the West Bank continues and as the post-war situation in Gaza remains unresolved.

The address carried added weight because the General Assembly is one of the few global forums where Palestinian leaders can directly present their case to a wide international audience. It also highlighted the continuing diplomatic strain between the Palestinian leadership and Washington over access to the UN meeting. The issue is not only procedural: it touches on the broader question of how Palestinian representation is handled at a moment of continuing conflict and political deadlock.

Sponsored

The timing also placed Abbas's remarks alongside other high-level speeches at the annual UN gathering, including one expected from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later the same day. That made the session part of a wider diplomatic confrontation over the war, the future of Gaza and the status of the occupied territories. Abbas's comments were framed around the claim that the Palestinian people should not be collectively penalised for seeking an end to occupation.

What remains unclear is whether the visa dispute will affect future Palestinian participation in UN meetings in New York. It is also not clear whether the latest address will lead to any immediate diplomatic response from the United States or other member states. The broader questions of settlement expansion, Gaza's post-war future and the terms of Palestinian representation at the UN are likely to remain central in the coming days.

#MahmoudAbbas #PalestinianAuthority #UnitedNationsGeneralAssembly #visadenial #WestBank