US denies visas to Palestinian UN delegation for second year
Washington has again refused visas to Palestinian officials including Mahmoud Abbas, barring them from the UN General Assembly; Abbas is expected to address the session by video link.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The Trump administration has denied entry visas to a high-level Palestinian delegation, including President Mahmoud Abbas, for the second year in a row, preventing them from attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week. The State Department said the officials had failed to live up to previous commitments to seek peace with Israel. Palestinians will still be represented by diplomats at the session.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the decision as unjustified. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the idea that pursuing Palestinian rights through the UN and international courts undermines peace, and called on Washington to reverse the move. But that appears unlikely. Abbas is expected to deliver his address to the General Assembly via video link.
The US administration accuses the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization of glorifying terrorism, failing to carry out reforms, and internationalising the conflict by pursuing legal action against Israel, including through the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. The Palestinians have rejected those charges.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed he will travel to New York to address the General Assembly in person, despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which he strongly denies. The US and Israel do not recognise the ICC, and Washington has called the warrant outrageous and biased.
The denial of visas comes as the UN warns that hundreds of war-damaged buildings in Gaza are at imminent risk of collapse, after at least 21 people were killed in a building collapse yesterday. The situation in Gaza remains dire, and the diplomatic row over visas has further strained US-Palestinian relations.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | Sky News |
|---|---|---|
| The US accused Palestinian leaders of glorifying terrorism, failing reforms, and undermining peace by pursuing legal action against Israel. | ||
| The US denied visas to a Palestinian delegation for the UN General Assembly for the second consecutive year, with the State Department citing failure to seek peace with Israel. | ||
| Palestinian officials condemned the US visa denial and called for its reversal, rejecting US accusations that they undermined peace. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News focused on the factual denial of visas, the State Department's justification, and the practical consequence that Palestinians would still be represented by diplomats. The tone was straightforward and news bulletin style, with little added context beyond the core announcement.
- “The Trump administration has denied entry visas for a high-level Palestinian delegation to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week”
- “The State Department says the officials who include Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas Failed to live up to previous commitments to seek peace with Israel”
- “It's the second year in a row that the visas have been denied and Palestinians will still be represented by diplomats”
BBC News provided deeper diplomatic and legal context, including the Palestinian Authority's condemnation, the US accusations against the PA and PLO, and the contrast with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's in-person attendance despite an ICC arrest warrant. The coverage was more analytical, drawing on a correspondent's explanation of the underlying tensions.
- “The Palestinian Authority has condemned the US denial of a visa to President Mahmoud Abbas as unjustified.”
- “For the second year running, Washington has prevented Mr. Abbas and other Palestinian officials from attending the UN General Assembly.”
- “the Trump administration accuses the PA and the PLO, these two internationally recognized bodies that represent the Palestinian people of glorifying terrorism, failing to carry out reforms and also in its words, internationalizing the conflict by pursuing legal action against Israel”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.