U.S. Threatens Visa Revocation for Palestinian UN Vice Post Bid

The United States has threatened to revoke the visas of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations unless Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour withdraws his candidacy for a vice presidency of the UN General Assembly. According to an internal State Department cable, U.S. diplomats in Jerusalem were instructed this week to deliver the warning ahead of elections scheduled for June 2.

The cable, dated May 19 and marked sensitive but unclassified, states that Mansour’s candidacy fuels tensions and undermines the U.S. administration’s peace plan for Gaza. It also references the ambassador’s past criticisms of Israel. The document warns that a platform for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage U.S. relations with the Palestinian Authority, adding that Congress would take the matter extremely seriously.

A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. takes its obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement seriously but declined to comment on specific cases due to visa record confidentiality. The Palestinian mission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This pressure follows a similar episode in February, when Mansour...