Abbas, speaking to UN via video, slams US for barring him from entry, says PA shuns terrorism

NEW YORK — Addressing the UN General Assembly virtually, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas knocks US President Donald Trump’s administration for preventing him from attending the forum in person for the second year in a row.

Last week, the US announced that it was extending last year’s ban on Palestinian officials, arguing that Ramallah had violated US legislation that penalizes the West Bank-based PA if it targets Israel in international organizations, advances the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, pays stipends to terrorists or glorifies violence.

“We reject these unlawful punitive measures, and we reject the accusations and justifications on which they were based,” Abbas says.

“We affirm that we have fulfilled our obligations, carried out a comprehensive national reform program, and upheld our commitment to international law, to shunning violence and terrorism,” the PA leader argues.

“The Palestinian people and its leadership should not be punished for… turning to the UN, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court,” he says.

“Our choice to invoke international law and its institutions is a peaceful and civilized choice, and not an act that runs counter to peace. Denying the Palestinian delegation access to the UN headquarters is a violation of the United States’ obligations as the host country,” he argues, calling on the US to lift its sanctions against the PA and resume dialogue with Ramallah, “rather than punishing the side that has chosen the path of international law and political and diplomatic action in order to guarantee its rights.”