Washington has said it will deny visas to Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and has sharply criticised the body which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, just as multiple US allies move to recognise Palestinian statehood, AFP reports.
The State Department did not specify who was being targeted, only saying it would deny visas to “members” of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and “officials” from the PA.
The organisations are “taking actions to internationalise its conflict with Israel, such as through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ),” the State Department said in a statement.
It also accused the groups of “continuing to support terrorism, including incitement and glorification of violence,” and of “providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the US sanctions, saying the gesture displayed “moral clarity”.
“This important action by President Trump and his administration also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that rushed to recognise a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to the PA’s support for terrorism and incitement,” Saar wrote on X.
