Washington- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not be able to attend the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York after the US State Department revoked his visa along with those of about 80 other Palestinian officials.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Abbas and his delegation of undermining peace efforts and pursuing unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state. The move, strongly welcomed by Israel, is unusual since the US is generally expected to ensure access for all delegations to UN headquarters.

The decision comes as France pushes international efforts to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN session, a step opposed by the Trump administration.

Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour had earlier confirmed Abbas would attend as head of his delegation, but the State Department later clarified that members of both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA) were affected by the visa ban.

While Rubio said Palestinian representatives at the UN mission in New York can still participate under the UN Headquarters Agreement, it remains unclear if the US move complies with that treaty, which obliges the US not to restrict foreign officials’ access to UN meetings regardless of political relations.

Abbas’ office condemned the decision, calling it a violation of international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement, noting that Palestine holds observer status at the UN. The office urged Washington to reverse the measure.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the US action.