Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his aides are considering their options after the US administration barred them from entering the United States to participate in the UN General Assembly and the two-state solution conference.

Abbas was scheduled to head a Palestinian delegation to New York on September 19 to participate in the two-state solution conference convened by the United Nations General Assembly, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, on September 22, as part of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. He was also scheduled to deliver a speech at the meeting, according to the Asharq Al-Awsat news website.

He was scheduled to deliver a second speech at the General Assembly on September 25, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the visas of Abbas and 80 other Palestinian Authority officials.

In a statement, the Palestinian presidency expressed its deep regret and astonishment at the decision, stressing that it contravenes international law and the Headquarters Agreement, particularly given that the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations.

- Ten countries have promised to recognize

Palestinian officials revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that ten countries have informed the Palestinian Authority of their intention to recognize the State of Palestine during this session, including Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Malta.

Abbas is scheduled to travel to London on September 7 at the invitation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss recognition.

Palestinians are viewing Britain's anticipated recognition of the State of Palestine with great interest, as it was the Mandatory Power over Palestine that granted the State of Israel its"birth certificate" through the Balfour Declaration, which promised"a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine."

Officials quoted Abbas as saying in private meetings that British recognition constitutes a "late birth certificate for the state of Palestine."

Palestinians also view with great interest the recognitions of influential European and Western countries in Europe and the world, such as France, Canada, and Australia, and see them as the beginning of an international shift toward consolidating statehood.

- Israeli-American pressure

All countries preparing to recognize Palestine have come under Israeli and American pressure to halt such recognition. France's efforts to convene a conference promoting a two-state solution and recognizing the State of Palestine have led to a diplomatic crisis between France and Israel, culminating in an Israeli threat to close the French consulate in Jerusalem.

Observers see the US position as completely biased towards Israel.

Dr. Ali Jarbawi, a professor of political science at Birzeit University, told Asharq Al-Awsat,"The US administration is not only completely biased toward Israel, but also supports the Israeli policy of settlement, annexation, and displacement."

He added,"The Trump administration embraces Israeli policies, and it is not unlikely that it will recognize the Israeli annexation of the West Bank, should it occur, just as it recognized the annexation of the Golan Heights and Jerusalem during Trump's first term."

Palestinian officials fear this could be a prelude to subsequent attempts to delegitimize the Palestinian Authority, facilitating the Israeli far right's efforts to undermine it in an effort to abolish the Palestinian political entity.

The Trump administration has refrained from engaging in political contacts with the Palestinian Authority, with the exception of an exploratory meeting held by Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff during the latter's visit to Saudi Arabia.

US Ambassador to Jerusalem Mike Huckabee held two separate meetings with Hussein al-Sheikh and Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, but the discussions were limited to daily affairs and did not address the political situation.

Since taking office several months ago, Huckabee has made statements that align with the positions of the far right in Israel, including support for settlements throughout the West Bank, including those that obstruct Palestinian territorial contiguity, where previous US administrations opposed Israeli settlement construction plans.

Huckabee stopped using the term"two-state solution" in internal US embassy correspondence and instead used the biblical name for the West Bank,"Judea and Samaria."

In private interviews, Huckabee says his positions are similar to President Trump's and do not deviate from them.

The Palestinian Authority is in contact with several countries with good relations with the US administration in an attempt to dissuade it from the ban, but prospects are bleak.

Some officials believe that the ban will not affect countries seeking to recognize the State of Palestine, but rather may strengthen these countries' efforts to do so.

- Options

Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders are considering alternative options in the event that the US administration insists on preventing the president and his delegation from reaching the UN headquarters in New York.

One such option is to request that the UN Secretary-General move the session's meetings to UN headquarters in Geneva, as happened in 1988 when the US administration prevented the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from delivering his speech before the General Assembly in New York.

If this fails, the second option is for President Mahmoud Abbas to delegate the Palestinian representative to the United Nations, Dr. Riyad Mansour, to deliver his speech and represent him at scheduled meetings with delegations, or to deliver the speech remotely.