The State Department on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting officials from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), barring them from entering the United States. The move, it said, is a response to the groups’ failure to uphold peace commitments with Israel.
“It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,” the department stated.
While the PLO is recognized internationally as the representative of the Palestinian people and the PA governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the sanctions are expected to have little practical effect. Most Palestinian officials already avoid travel to the U.S., largely due to a 2019 anti-terrorism law—recently upheld by the Supreme Court—that permits American victims of terrorism to sue both the PLO and PA in U.S. courts.
However, the implications for travel to the United Nations in New York may differ. As the host country, the U.S. has certain obligations to facilitate diplomatic access for Palestinian and other foreign officials.
According to the announcement, the visa bans are based on violations of two U.S. laws: the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002. The State Department accused both organizations of undermining peace by seeking to internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—through institutions like the International Criminal Court—and for their financial support to Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. The statement also pointed to what it described as the “incitement and glorification of violence” in Palestinian school textbooks.
U.S.-Palestinian relations have remained strained under the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the administration merged the Palestinian Affairs office into the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, signaling a further downgrade in diplomatic ties. In another move, President Donald Trump reversed previous sanctions against Israeli settlers accused of violence in the West Bank.
More recently, the administration sanctioned Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on Palestinian rights, after she voiced strong criticism of Israeli actions.
The new U.S. sanctions come at a time when more American allies are backing Palestinian statehood. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday that Canada will formally recognize Palestine at the upcoming UN General Assembly in September. France and the United Kingdom have also pledged similar recognition, amid mounting pressure on Israel over the ongoing hunger crisis in Gaza.
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