The Trump administration has issued broad additional restrictions on visa applications by holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, The New York Times reported on Sunday, citing four American officials.
The measures, said to have been announced in an Aug. 18 cable sent to all U.S. diplomatic missions, would prevent Palestinians from Samaria and Judea from entering America, including for medical treatment, university studies, visits to friends or relatives and business travel.
The new policy reportedly goes beyond the suspension of all visitor visas for Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, which was announced on Aug. 16.
The new restrictions cover anyone holding only a P.A. travel document. They do not apply to Palestinian Arabs with dual nationalities who use their other passports, or those who have already obtained a U.S. visa.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed to the Times on Sunday that it had ordered embassies and consulates to enforce the restrictions, saying that Washington was taking “concrete steps in compliance with U.S. law and our national security in regards to announced visa restrictions.”
To deny visas, the Trump administration is reportedly invoking section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which is usually applied narrowly to request additional documentation from applicants.
On Friday, the State Department announced that it had decided to deny new visas and revoke old ones for individuals associated with the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the United Nations General Assembly annual debate in September.
“The Trump administration has been clear: It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and P.A. accountable for not complying with their commitments and for undermining the prospects for peace,” read a memo. “Before the PLO and P.A. can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism, including the Oct. 7 massacre, and end incitement to terrorism in education.”
