Move the meeting to a Country that supports justice and honour – certainly not the USA – Peter
The Trump administration has revoked the visas of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and dozens of other officials before next month’s United Nations General Assembly meeting, at which Australia and other US allies plan to recognise a Palestinian state.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had committed to meeting the Palestinian leader at the annual high-level meeting at UN headquarters in New York. Abbas had also been scheduled to attend a summit at which Australia, Britain, France and Canada would recognise a Palestinian state and discuss a two-state solution.
But yesterday (AEST), the US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ordered that visa applications from the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) – the political body through which Australia and other countries officially engage with Palestine – be denied.
A department official said Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision. The department reiterated longstanding US and Israeli allegations that the Palestinian Authority and PLO had failed to stop extremism while pushing for “unilateral recognition” of a Palestinian state.
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