“US threatens to revoke Palestinian UN ambassador's visa, report says Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 05/21/2026 - 06:49 Washington pressures Riyad Mansour to drop his bid for vice president of the UN General Assembly, US cable reveals Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East at UN headquarters in New York on 18 February 2026 (Charly Triballeu/AFP) Off The US is threatening to revoke the visas of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations unless the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, withdraws his candidacy for vice president of the UN General Assembly , NPR reported on Thursday. A US State Department cable obtained by the publication instructed US diplomats in Jerusalem on Tuesday to pressure Palestinian officials this week to withdraw their bid ahead of 2 June elections for one of the assembly’s 21 vice president posts. The cable accused Riyad Mansour of having a history of "accusing Israel of genocide," and claimed that his candidacy "fuels tension" and undermines President Trump's plans for Gaza. "A bully pulpit for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage U.S. relations with the PA [Palestinian Authority]. Congress will take it extremely seriously," the cable said. In February, Mansour withdrew his candidacy for the presidency of the UN General Assembly after US lobbying, according to the US cable. The US last year refused visas to Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other senior Palestinian aides for the UN General Assembly in New York. The decision came after several Western countries announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state during the annual gathering, while the US said its decision was based on the PA’s support for the war crimes and genocide cases against Israel at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Abbas’ office reacted to the decision, saying that it violated the UN “headquarters agreement”, which requires the US, as host of the UN in New York, not to refuse visas for officials travelling to the world body for the General Assembly. "In September 2025, the Department made the decision to waive visa sanctions and other inadmissibilities for Palestinian officials assigned to the PLO's UN Observer Mission in New York. It would be unfortunate to have to revisit any available options," the May 19 cable said. Hady Amr, a former senior State Department official on Palestinian affairs under the Obama and Biden administrations, criticised the threat. "It's counterproductive because you need diplomats to work out problems between countries and by expelling diplomats, you're undermining not only their ability to solve problems, but the abilities of the United States as well," Amr said. Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
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