US to refuse visas to Palestinian Authority officials

AFP | Washington

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Washington said yesterday it would deny visas to Palestinian Authority officials and sharply criticized the body which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, just as multiple US allies move to recognize Palestinian statehood.

The State Department did not specify who was being targeted, only saying it would deny visas to "members" of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and "officials" from the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The organizations are "taking actions to internationalize its conflict with Israel such as through the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ)," the State Department said in a statement.

It also accused the groups of "continuing to support terrorism including incitement and glorification of violence," and of "providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families."

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the US sanctions, saying the gesture displayed "moral clarity."

The measures against the PA, whose leader Mahmud Abbas has been widely recognized for years as a key partner in efforts to resolve the conflict, come as growing numbers of countries consider recognizing a Palestinian state.

Canada and France are among the latest nations to announce they will grant recognition.