Washington is reportedly threatening to revoke the visas of the Palestinian Authority delegation to the UN if its ambassador refuses to withdraw his candidacy for the vice presidency of the General Assembly.
The US administration views the attempt by Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour to take up the General Assembly role as undermining President Donald Trump’s peace plan for the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported on Thursday.
“To be clear, we will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its VPGA candidacy,” a Trump administration cable instructing US diplomats in Jerusalem reportedly said.
Mansour had already withdrawn his candidacy for the presidency of the General Assembly following pressure from Washington.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.
“Therefore, there is still a risk that the Palestinians could preside over GA sessions during UNGA81 [the UN 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 US revocation of the Palestinian delegation’s visas would not be a first. On August 29, the Trump administration revoked the visas of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas and around 80 other PA and PLO officials.
Their visas were restored the following month.
In February, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon accused the PA 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 UN’s objectives,” posted 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.
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