UN approves video address by Palestine’s Abbas after US visa refusal

After the United States refused to grant him a visa to travel to New York in person, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be able to speak at the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting of world leaders via video link the following week.

The resolution, which was approved on Friday with 145 votes in favor, five against, and six abstentions, read, “The State of Palestine may submit a prerecorded statement of its President, which will be played in the General Assembly Hall.”

Abbas’s visa was reinstated in the wake of the Palestinian Authority’s demand that he attend the UNGA in person and travel to the United States to lead the delegation there.

Abbas was one of the 80 Palestinian officials whose visas were suspended by the US State Department due to concerns for national security.

Following a summit hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on Monday that aims to create momentum for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, the General Assembly speeches are scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

According to James Bays, the diplomatic editor for Al Jazeera in New York, “Gaza is issue number one at the UN General Assembly.”

“All leaders meet here to deliver their speeches. However, Mahmoud Abbas has been denied a visa, which is unusual for this circumstance.

Bays claimed that there were “very few countries that are backing the side of Israel and the US” in the wake of Abbas’s overwhelming support of the UNGA’s video session.

The Trump administration’s decision has drawn widespread criticism, with the UN claiming that it is in violation of the Host Country Agreement, which requires US leaders to allow heads of state and government to visit New York for annual meetings and diplomatic meetings.

Israel’s war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and a wave of Israeli settler and military violence in the occupied West Bank are all under the spotlight as the US visa restrictions are implemented.

An increasing number of nations, mainly in Europe, have announced their support for Palestinian statehood at the UN in September in response to Israel’s devastating attacks over the past almost two years.