File - With the U.S. Capitol in the background, demonstrators rally during the March on Washington for Gaza at Freedom Plaza in Washington. AP
The new restrictions will prevent many Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the wider diaspora from obtaining non-immigrant visas, according to an 18 August cable from State Department headquarters to US embassies and consulates.
The affected categories include medical treatment, university studies, family visits, and business travel.
This applies to individuals holding only Palestinian passports, but it does not extend to Palestinians with dual nationality who travel on other passports or those who already hold valid US visas, the report said.
The move broadens earlier measures targeting Gaza residents after a far-right influencer close to President Donald Trump criticized the evacuation of wounded Palestinian children to the US for medical care.
Although the US administration has not specified the timing, its policy comes as several Western countries signal plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming weeks.
The United States has remained Israel’s staunchest ally during its nearly two-year war in Gaza, despite growing international criticism of Israel’s military campaign and the humanitarian crisis it has created.
On Friday, the State Department announced that it would deny or revoke visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of September’s UN General Assembly in New York.
Washington accused Palestinian leaders of pursuing “lawfare” by bringing cases against Israel at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice and urged the PA to abandon what it called “efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.”
PA President Mahmoud Abbas was included in the restrictions. Abbas had been planning to travel to New York to deliver an address at the UN General Assembly.
“We call upon the American administration to reverse its decision. This decision will only increase tension and escalation," Palestinian Presidential Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh told The Associated Press in Ramallah.
Stéphane Dujarric, a UN spokesperson, said it was “important” for all states and observers, which includes the Palestinians, to be represented at a summit scheduled for the day before the general assembly begins. “We obviously hope that this will be resolved,” Dujarric added.
The new measures align the Trump administration more closely with the Israeli government, which rejects Palestinian statehood.
Several US allies, including Canada and France, are expected to back the recognition of Palestine at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly beginning 9 September.
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