US blocks Palestinian leader from UN meeting in New York

Move comes as several US allies are set to recognise Palestine as a state at summit

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WASHINGTON/RAMALLAH, West Bank - The US said on Aug 29 it will not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York in September for a UN gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognise Palestine as a state.

A US State Department official said Mr Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny and revoke the visas of members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA).

Mr Abbas had been planning to travel to New York for the annual high-level General Assembly at the UN headquarters in Manhattan.

He was also set to attend a summit there — hosted by France and Saudi Arabia — at which Britain, France, Australia and Canada have pledged to formally recognise a Palestinian state.

Mr Abbas' office said it was astonished by the visa decision and argued that it violated the UN "headquarters agreement".

Under a 1947 UN "headquarters agreement", the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.

Washington, however, has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.