When Four Countries Move To Recognize a Palestinian State Next Month, Mahmoud Abbas Will Not Be There

When France, Britain, Canada, and Australia announce their recognition of a Palestinian state at the United Nations next month, the Palestinian Arab Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, will barred from attending after the State Department announced Friday that Mr. Abbas, along with dozens of other Palestinian Arabs, will be denied visas to come to New York for the annual meetings of the U.N. General Assembly, which runs this year from September 9 to September 26.It remains uncertain what impact that will have, if any, on the Palestinian leader’s ability to deliver on a number of conditions that have been placed by the four Western nations on their promises of recognition.The State Department, in its announcement Friday, said a total of about 80 Palestinians including Mr. Abbas will have visas denied or revoked. All are members of the Palestine Liberation Organization or the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority.The department based its decision on charges that the PA and PLO have failed to repudiate extremism while pushing for “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state. “(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,” the State Department said.Mr. Abbas’ office said it was astonished by the decision. “We call on the U.S. administration to reverse this decision, which contradicts international law, specifically the Headquarters Agreement between the United Nations and the United States, which prohibits preventing any delegation from access,” a spokesman for Mr. Abbas told Reuters on Saturday.Among the most watched moments on the sidelines of this year’s General Assembly is expected to be a summit where the four nations will declare their recognition of a Palestinian state. Mr. Abbas had been expected to be on hand to savor the moment.The four countries have variously said they are acting out of frustration over the length and the ferocity of Israel’s military response to the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas that claimed some 1,200 Israeli lives. They say they hope their action will move Isreael and the Palestinians toward peace.Israel, backed by the United States, has strongly condemned the plan, arguing that it serves only to condone and reward Palestinian terrorism. It also argues that the concessions being offered will only encourage Hamas to harden its stance in the Israel-Hamas war.Each of the four nations has placed some conditions on its recognition, with France calling for the for demilitarization of the future Palestinian Arab state and full recognition of Israel by the Palestinian Authority.Britain, in its July 29 announcement that it plans to recognize a Palestinian state, placed no conditions on the PA but said that “Hamas must immediately release all the hostages, sign up to an immediate ceasefire, accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza, and commit to disarmament.”Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said in an August 11 announcement that his move “is predicated on the commitments we have received from the Palestinian Authority” to hold elections, demilitarize, and exclude Hamas from governance.And the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, said his decision is predicated on commitments by Mr. Abbas “to fundamentally reform [the PA’s] governance, to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state,”While the leaders referred vaguely to having received such assurances, little has been said in public by Mr. Abbas or his organization. Critics point out that it has failed to follow through on such commitments in the past.In announcing the visa rejections for the Palestinian delegation, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, laid out his own demands of the PA. He said it must repudiate terrorism, including the October 7 Hamas attack; end incitement to terrorism in education; cease international lawfare campaigns, such as appeals to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice; and stop efforts to secure unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.Whether Mr. Abbas will be held to account for any of his reported commitments or the American demands remains to be seen. Yet it looks like he will not be at the United Nations to act on them next month.

When Four Countries Move To Recognize a Palestinian State Next Month, Mahmoud Abbas Will Not Be There

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