Washington is threatening to revoke the visas of the Palestinian Authority delegation to the United Nations if the P.A. ambassador refuses to end his candidacy for the vice presidency of the U.N. General Assembly, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The U.S. administration views the intention of envoy Riyad Mansour to assume the General Assembly role as undermining U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the Gaza Strip, the report read.
“To be clear, we will hold the P.A. responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its VPGA candidacy,” the report cited a message in a cable instructing the course of action for U.S. diplomats in Jerusalem.
Mansour had already withdrawn his candidacy for the presidency of the General Assembly following pressure from Washington.
However, if elected to the vice president role, he could still preside over General Assembly sessions, Reuters reported.
“Therefore, there is still a risk that the Palestinians could preside over G.A. sessions during UNGA81 [the U.N. General Assembly’s 81st annual high-level week in September] unless they withdraw from the race,” the report cited the cable as adding.
“In a worst-case scenario, the next PGA might assist the Palestinians in presiding over high-profile sessions related to the Middle East or during UNGA81 high-level week,” the cable read.
The election for the president and vice presidents of the General Assembly will be held on June 2.
A U.S. revocation of the Palestinian delegation’s visas would not be a first. On Aug. 29, the Trump administration revoked the visas of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas and around 80 other P.A. and PLO officials.
Their visas were restored the following month.
In February, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon accused the P.A. of trying to upgrade its status by seeking the presidency of the General Assembly.
Mansour’s bid “is a blatant attempt to upgrade the status of the Palestinian delegation at the United Nations through the back door, to turn the General Assembly into a platform for anti-Israel propaganda, and to undermine the U.N.’s objectives,” tweeted Danon at the time.
The Palestinian delegation has observer state status within the General Assembly and has no authority to vote along with the 193 member states.
