The U.S. says it will deny or revoke visas for Palestinian officials wishing to travel to New York next month to attend the UN General Assembly session.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed them for undermining peace efforts and for seeking 'the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state'.
The decision is unusual - the U.S., as host country, is expected to facilitate travel for officials of all countries wishing to visit the UN headquarters.
The ban comes as France spearheads international efforts to recognise a state of Palestine at the GA session. Donald Trump's administration has fully backed Israel in voicing opposition to such a move.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has constantly rejected the idea of a two-state solution - the long-time international formula to resolve the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. He argues that recognizing a Palestinian state would reward 'Hamas's monstrous terrorism'.
Hamas has been running the Gaza Strip for years, with its rival Fatah in charge in the West Bank. Both are supposed to be governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas is also in charge of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) - the umbrella organisation which represents Palestinians at international fora. The PLO has had observer status at the UN since 1974. It can participate in meetings but not vote on resolutions.
According to Rubio, before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism and end efforts to bypass negotiations by pursuing legal cases against Israel at international courts.
The U.S. move to deny or revoke visas raises questions about compliance with the UN Headquarters Agreement, which stipulates that attendance should not be impeded based on government relations.
Despite the U.S. position, several countries, including the UK, Canada, and Australia, are also planning to recognize a Palestinian state at the GA meeting.
