The Palestinian Authority (PA) has strongly denounced the US decision to deny and revoke visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the PA before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), describing it as a violation of the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement.
“We express our deep astonishment at this decision and consider it a flagrant breach of the 1947 Headquarters Agreement, which guarantees the entry and protection of representatives of UN member states,” Ahmed al-Deek, a political adviser to the Palestinian foreign minister, said on Friday.
The Headquarters Agreement, signed in 1947 between the UN and the US, mandates that Washington, DC, must ensure the entry of representatives, staff, and experts from UN member states, irrespective of their political relations.
Deek urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and member states to resolve what he called a flagrant violation.
He said Palestinian leadership would consult with friendly nations to determine appropriate diplomatic steps.
The senior Palestinian nation further noted that the US decision “will not stop the wave of recognition of the State of Palestine, nor the international consensus on the need to halt genocide, displacement, and annexation.”
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Presidency expressed “deep regret and surprise” over the US decision.
It said in a statement that the move “stands in clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement.”
The statement noted that Palestine has observer status at the UN, calling on the US administration “to reconsider and reverse its decision.”
Earlier on Friday, the US State Department said it was canceling visas for the PLO and PA members.
It also accused the Palestinian Authority of “attempts to bypass negotiations” by appealing to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Israeli abuses committed in both the occupied West Bank and throughout Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
A number of Western nations, such as France and the United Kingdom, have already declared their intentions to recognize the State of Palestine in the forthcoming UN meetings.
