US revokes visas of Palestinian officials ahead of UN general assembly
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of a number of Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organisation officials.
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The decision comes ahead of next month's annual high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly, where the groups previously have been represented.
The State Department said in a statement on Friday that Mr Rubio also had ordered some new visa applications from Palestinian officials be denied.
The move is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to target Palestinians with visa restrictions and comes as the Israeli military declared Gaza's largest city a combat zone.
The State Department also suspended a programme that had allowed injured Palestinian children from Gaza to come to the US for medical treatment after a social media outcry by some conservatives.
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Today the Trump Administration is announcing it will deny and revoke visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly per U.S. law.
— Tommy Pigott (@StateDeputySpox) August 29, 2025
Before we take them seriously as partners in…
The State Department did not specify how many visas had been revoked or how many applications had been denied.
The full statement said: "In accordance with U.S. law, 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 United Nations General Assembly.
"The Trump Administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace.
"Before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism — including the October 7 massacre — and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO.
"The PA must also end its attempts to bypass negotiations through international lawfare campaigns, including appeals to the ICC and ICJ, and efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state. Both steps materially contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks.
"The PA Mission to the UN will receive waivers per the UN Headquarters Agreement. The United States remains open to re-engagement that is consistent with our laws, should the PA/PLO meet their obligations and demonstrably take concrete steps to return to a constructive path of compromise and peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel."
