Marco Rubio Denies Palestinian Leader Visa to Attend UN General Assembly: ‘The Trump Administration Does Not Reward Terrorism’

AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not allow Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the United National General Assembly in September.

According to The Daily Wire, the Trump administration is suspending the visas of Abbas and his delegation.

“In compliance with the laws and national security interests of the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly,” said State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott in a statement. “Before they can be taken seriously as partners for peace, the PA and PLO must repudiate terrorism, lawfare campaigns at the ICC and ICJ, and the pursuit of unilateral recognition of statehood. The PA Mission to the UN will receive waivers per the UN Headquarters agreement. The United States remains open to re-engagement should the PA/PLO demonstrably take concrete steps to return to constructive engagement.”

The PA is run by the Fatah party, which is considered to be the relatively moderate alternative to Hamas. Critic allege that it still enables and encourages terrorism, citing its operation of the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund — which provides money to the families of Palestinians who were killed, injured, or imprisoned after attacking Israelis — as an example.