The US has urged the Palestinian envoy to the UN to withdraw his candidacy for a senior General Assembly post and threatened to revoke his delegation’s visas if he refuses, according to media reports citing an internal State Department cable.
The dispute centers on Palestinian efforts to expand their diplomatic standing at the UN, including a push for full membership and a vice-presidential seat in the General Assembly, despite opposition from US and Israel.
The internal cable issued this week reportedly instructed US diplomats at the American embassy in Jerusalem to tell Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour that his General Assembly bid “fuels tensions,” risks undermining US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, and would face consequences if it moved forward.
Mansour had already dropped a bid to become president of the General Assembly earlier this year following US lobbying, according to the reports. The Assembly is due to elect its next president and 16 vice‑presidents on June 2.
US diplomats were also reportedly instructed to remind Palestinian officials that they would make no progress on recovering tax and customs revenues withheld by Israel if they did not “engage in good faith.” Those funds make up much of the Palestinian Authority’s budget and have been largely frozen since the Gaza war began following the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023.
Israeli forces have since carried out large-scale operations in the enclave, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and displacing most of the population. Although a ceasefire was reached last year, the IDF has continued to conduct strikes in the territory.
The Palestinian Authority holds non-member observer state status at the UN and has no vote in the 193-member General Assembly. Although the Assembly backed its bid for full membership in 2024, any upgrade still requires Security Council approval, where previous efforts were blocked by US vetoes.
Under a 1947 headquarters agreement, the US is obliged to allow representatives of UN members and observers to travel to New York for official UN business. However, Washington has previously denied visas to some Iranian and Russian officials and to former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, citing national security concerns.