State Dept cites Palestinian appeals to ICC and ICJ over Israeli abuses in occupied territories in justifying move.The administration of US President Donald Trump has announced it is denying and revoking visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) before the United Nations General Assembly in September.The announcement was made in a statement released by the US Department of State on Friday.“The Trump Administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the statement said.The statement said the members “must consistently repudiate terrorism”, citing the October 7, 2021, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.It also accused the Palestinian Authority of “attempts to bypass negotiations” by appealing to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice for Israeli abuses committed in both the occupied West Bank and throughout Israel’s war in Gaza, which UN experts have called a genocide.Both the PA, which has limited self-governing authority in the occupied West Bank, and the PLO, the internationally recognised Palestinian umbrella organisation, serve as representatives for the Palestinian people and push for recognition of a Palestinian state on the global stage.The Trump administration had previously sanctioned members of the PA and PLO, accusing them of the “glori …
