U.S. Extends Visa Ban On Abbas And Other Palestinian Officials
The State Department announced September 16, 2026, that it will continue denying U.S. visas to Palestinian officials, barring Mahmoud Abbas from the U.N. General Assembly in New York.[1]
The department said the measures respond to Palestinian efforts to bring cases to international tribunals and to what it described as a failure to repudiate and a continued glorification of terrorism.[1] It also keeps in place a suspension, first imposed in August 2025, on issuing most visitor visas to people holding Palestinian passports.[1]
In August 2025, the State Department suspended issuing most visitor visas to anyone holding a Palestinian passport.[1] Last year those measures prevented Mr. Abbas from attending the U.N. General Assembly, and the extension announced today will do so again.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, the State Department announced it would continue to deny visas to Palestinian officials.
- The extension prevents Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas from traveling to New York for the U.N. General Assembly for a second year in a row.
- The department said the measures respond to Palestinian efforts to bring cases to international tribunals and to what it described as failure to repudiate terrorism and ongoing glorification of terrorism.
- In August 2025 the State Department also suspended issuing most visitor visas to anyone holding a Palestinian passport, and the new decision keeps those punitive measures in place.
- The State Department said it has notified Congress of the visa ban extension.
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