Washington DC [US], September 17 (ANI): The US State Department has extended sanctions denying visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA), citing what it described as their failure to comply with commitments made to the United States, ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
In a statement issued by the Office of the Spokesman, the State Department said it had reported to Congress that the PLO and PA had "once again, failed to live up to their commitments" under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 (PLOCCA) and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002 (MEPCA).
The US State Department cited several actions that it said were contrary to those commitments, including "initiating and supporting actions at international organisations that undermine and contradict prior commitments in support of Security Council Resolution 242 and 338."
It also accused the PLO and PA of taking steps to internationalise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state and continuing to pay stipends to terrorists and glorify terrorism and terrorists in public statements and school textbooks.
"As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials in accordance with section 604(a)(1) of the MEPCA," the State Department said.
The department added that it had maintained the standing waiver for personnel notified to the PLO Observer Mission to the United Nations, as was the case in its prior determinations.
"It is in our national interest to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for glorifying terrorism," the State Department said.
The extended visa restrictions would prevent Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from travelling to New York ahead of his address to the UN General Assembly next week, marking the second consecutive year in which he has been prevented from attending the UNGA in person.
Abbas's speech this year had been expected to focus on international recognition of Palestinian statehood and renewed momentum behind a two-state solution.
It was also expected to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the expansion of Israeli settlements and settler violence across the occupied West Bank.
The development comes after the United Kingdom, France, Canada and other Western governments recognised Palestinian statehood.
The US decision has drawn criticism from Palestinian officials and UN human rights experts. Critics have argued that the visa restrictions breach the US obligation to allow individuals invited by the United Nations to travel to its headquarters in New York.
According to Al Jazeera, UN human rights experts have argued that applying restrictions to Palestinian representatives while Israeli officials do not face equivalent US travel restrictions undermines Washington's stated commitment to a negotiated peace.
The criticism also comes against the backdrop of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his war crimes in Gaza. (ANI)
