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Akbar Novruz

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The administration of US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to prevent Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from traveling to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly next month, marking the second consecutive year Washington has moved to restrict his participation.

According to Israeli media, Abbas is scheduled to address the 81st session of the UN General Assembly on September 24.

The reported decision follows Washington’s move last year to deny visas to Abbas and other Palestinian officials ahead of the annual UN gathering.

Abbas reportedly raised concerns over the latest move during a visit to Ankara last week, asking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to intervene with Trump on his behalf.

Erdogan subsequently spoke with Trump by telephone on Tuesday. However, a US official told The Times of Israel the following day that Washington still intended to prevent Abbas from attending, suggesting that the Turkish intervention had not changed the administration’s position.

The United Nations said it had not received any official notification from Washington regarding a visa denial.

UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Arab News on Friday that the organization was aware of the reports but noted that visa applications for heads of delegations are handled by the US government rather than the UN.

“We have seen cases in the past where visas were denied by the host country,” Dujarric said.

He added that the UN continued to hope the United States would fulfil its obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement, which is intended to facilitate travel to New York for diplomats and government officials conducting UN business.

Dujarric noted that the issue was not unprecedented, pointing to previous disputes involving other delegations, including Russia, over access to the UN headquarters.

The US State Department did not confirm whether Abbas would be denied a visa, citing the confidentiality of individual visa cases. However, it said Washington takes its obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement “seriously.”

The department also pointed to US legislation allowing the secretary of state to impose restrictions or conditions on the travel of members of foreign missions.

Washington took similar action in August 2025, announcing that it would deny or revoke visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority ahead of the UN General Assembly, including Abbas.

That decision came shortly before a UN conference co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France aimed at advancing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Trump administration opposed the initiative, arguing at the time that recognition of Palestinian statehood would reward Hamas and undermine efforts to end the war in Gaza.