The Trump administration announced it will deny and revoke visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in September. “Today the Trump Administration is announcing it will deny and revoke visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly per U.S. law,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. “Before we take them seriously as partners in peace, the PA and PLO must completely reject terrorism and stop counterproductively pursuing the unilateral recognition of a hypothetical state,” he added. Today the Trump Administration is announcing it will deny and revoke visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly per U.S. law.    Before we take them seriously as partners in… — Tommy Pigott (@StateDeputySpox) August 29, 2025 Newsweek has more: If they want to see their visas reinstated, both organizations need to “consistently repudiate terrorism,” the announcement read, including the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel. Rubio’s department also said the PA needed to end attempts to bypass negotiations through “international lawfare campaigns,” referring to appeals to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Trump administration has already said it would restrict visitor visas for those from Gaza, citing a need to carry out a “full and thorough review of the process and procedures” used to grant the “medical-humanitarian” visas. Friday’s announcement said that the PA Mission to the U.N. will receive waivers, per U.N. agreements. “The United States remains open to re-engagement that is consistent with our laws, should the PA/PLO meet their obligations and demonstrably take concrete steps to return to a constructive path of compromise and peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel,” the statement from the State Department read. “The Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization pay terrorists to kill civilians, including Americans in Israel. The terrorists who run this pay-for-slay scheme have no business setting foot in the United States,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) commented. The Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization pay terrorists to kill civilians, including Americans in Israel. The terrorists who run this pay-for-slay scheme have no business setting foot in the United States. https://t.co/PCDq8u5l77 — Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) August 29, 2025 The New York Post shared further info: Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the sanctions were the result of Palestinian leaders “unilaterally declaring Palestinian statehood; glorifying violence; promoting antisemitism; and providing material support to terrorists (‘pay for slay’).” Friday’s State Department memo also cited reports that Abbas was preparing to introduce a “constitutional declaration” declaring Palestinian independence at the General Assembly, which will host its General Debate Sept. 23-27. The sensitive but unclassified memo also stated that a French-Saudi conference on a two-state solution, also scheduled to take place with the Palestinians next month, would only serve as a “major propaganda victory for Hamas and the content of it is designed to the Palestinian state as the only possible conclusion to the war in Gaza.” “This reduces U.S. options in ceasefire talks and in the postwar ‘endgame,’” reads the memo. The denials of visas for the Palestinian officials marks the first known instance of the US waiving the privilege for an entire foreign delegation. It also comes after foreign leaders — including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron — had indicated support for recognizing a Palestinian state at the annual gathering.