US blocks Palestinian President from attending UN meeting in New York

Palestinian president and 80 other Palestinian officials had their visas revoked

According to the US State Department, Mahmoud and 80 other Palestinian officials have had their visas revoked, per the BBC.

US Secretary Marco Rubio has criticised them for undermining peace efforts and for seeking "the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state".

This decision is unusual as the US should facilitate travel for officials of all countries wanting to visit the UN headquarters.

The ban comes after France's international efforts to recognise a state of Palestine at the meeting, a development which Trump's administration has opposed.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, had earlier stated that as head of its delegation, Abbas would be attending next month's meeting of heads of state and government in New York.

However, a State Department official later claimed Abbas and 80 other Palestinian officials would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA), per the BBC.

Rubio further said Palestinian representatives at the UN mission could attend the meetings if they were in accordance with the UN Headquarters Agreement, a document which regulates issues in regards to the operations of the UN in the US.

However, it remains unclear if the US' decision to deny and/or revoke visas complies with that document, which also details that foreign officials' attendance in New York shall not be impeded by the US, "irrespective of the relations" between their respective governments and the US.

Abbas' office said it was taken aback by the visa decision, as it "stands in clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, particularly since the State of Palestine is an observer member of the United Nations," per the BBC.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the State Department's decision, while Abbas has urged the US to reverse the move.