U.S. plans to again bar Abbas from going to NYC for U.N. address next month — official

"For the second year in a row, US President Donald Trump’s administration plans to prevent Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from traveling to New York next month to speak before the United Nations General Assembly, a US official told The Times of Israel.

The US refused to grant Abbas a visa to enter the US last year, claiming the PA had been taking steps that undermine prospects for peace.

Washington didn’t elaborate on its specific grievances with Ramallah at the time, and the move was seen as part of an effort to undermine a conference that France and Saudi Arabia were hosting ahead of the General Assembly’s high-level week last year that was aimed at promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Trump administration opposed the gathering, claiming that it was a reward to Hamas and undermined efforts to end the war in Gaza.

No such conference is scheduled at the UN this year, but the US plans to maintain the precedent regarding Abbas that it set last year, the US official said..."