Latest news with #peaceefforts
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
US imposes visa sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and PLO members
The US imposed sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday, accusing them of undermining peace efforts with Israel even as other Western powers moved toward recognition of Palestinian statehood. The US State Department said it would deny visas for travel to the United States by those it was targeting, although it did not name any specific individuals. 'It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,' the State Department said in a statement. The State Department said the two Palestinian organisations had 'taken actions to internationalise' their conflict with Israel, including through the International Criminal Court, and said both had continued 'to support terrorism'. The PA and PLO serve as representatives for the Palestinian people and have long pushed for recognition of a Palestinian state by international organisations and foreign nations. The two groups had no immediate comment on the US move. 01:29 Dozens of Palestinians killed while seeking aid in Gaza as US envoy heads to Israel for talks Dozens of Palestinians killed while seeking aid in Gaza as US envoy heads to Israel for talks There are signs of a growing diplomatic divide over Palestinian statehood between Washington and three fellow Group of Seven (G7) allies.
France 24
5 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
US imposes visa sanctions on Palestinian Authority, PLO officials for 'undermining' peace
The US imposed sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday, accusing them of undermining peace efforts with Israel even as other Western powers moved toward recognition of Palestinian statehood. 03:51 The State Department said it would deny visas for travel to the US by those it was targeting, although it did not name any specific individuals. 'It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace,' the State Department said in a statement. The State Department said the two Palestinian organizations had 'taken actions to internationalize' their conflict with Israel, including through the International Criminal Court, and said both had continued 'to support terrorism.' The PA and PLO serve as representatives for the Palestinian people and have long pushed for recognition of a Palestinian state by international organizations and foreign nations. The two groups had no immediate comment on the US move. The State Department made its announcement just a day after Canada said it planned to recognize the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September, ratcheting up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. France said last week it would back Palestinian statehood and Britain said it would do the same at September's UN General Assembly meeting if the fighting in Gaza had not stopped by then. US President Donald Trump has insisted that recognition of Palestinian statehood would wrongly reward Hamas, the militant group that is battling Israel in the Gaza Strip. Since returning to office in January, Trump has been vague on his position on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel has denounced the moves by France, Britain and Canada. 'Moral distortion' Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a post on X, thanked the US for its 'moral clarity' in sanctioning the Palestinian officials, saying the action 'also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that ran to recognise a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to its support for terror and incitement". It was not immediately clear how the US visa ban would affect Palestinian diplomats. Under the 1947 UN 'headquarters agreement,' the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism and foreign policy reasons. The U.S. sanctions follow an international conference this week at the UN, hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, that aimed to work towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel and the US boycotted the event. Also on Thursday, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to salvage Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor has warned that famine is unfolding. The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's offensive has killed more than 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US imposes visa sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials, PLO members
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. imposed sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday, accusing them of undermining peace efforts with Israel even as other Western powers moved toward recognition of Palestinian statehood. The State Department said it would deny visas for travel to the U.S. by those it was targeting, although it did not name any specific individuals. "It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace," the State Department said in a statement. The State Department said the two Palestinian organizations had "taken actions to internationalize" their conflict with Israel, including through the International Criminal Court, and said both had continued "to support terrorism." The PA and PLO serve as representatives for the Palestinian people and have long pushed for recognition of a Palestinian state by international organizations and foreign nations. The two groups had no immediate comment on the U.S. move. The State Department made its announcement just a day after Canada said it planned to recognize the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September, ratcheting up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. France said last week it would back Palestinian statehood and Britain said it would do the same at September's U.N. General Assembly meeting if the fighting in Gaza had not stopped by then. U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted that recognition of Palestinian statehood would wrongly reward Hamas, the militant group that is battling Israel in the Gaza Strip. Since returning to office in January, Trump has been vague on his position on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel has denounced the moves by France, Britain and Canada. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a post on X, thanked the U.S. for its "moral clarity" in sanctioning the Palestinian officials, saying the action "also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that ran to recognise a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to its support for terror and incitement." It was not immediately clear how the U.S. visa ban would affect Palestinian diplomats. Under the 1947 U.N. "headquarters agreement," the U.S. is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the U.N. in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism and foreign policy reasons. The U.S. sanctions follow an international conference this week at the U.N., hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, that aimed to work towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel and the U.S. boycotted the event. Also on Thursday, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to salvage Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor has warned that famine is unfolding. The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's offensive has killed more than 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population.
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US imposes sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials, PLO members
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday, saying the groups are undermining peace efforts as U.S. officials separately seek to salvage ceasefire talks in Gaza, opens new tab. The move prevents those targeted from receiving visas to travel to the United States, the U.S. State Department said, although it did not list any specific individuals. "It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace," the department said in a statement. The State Department said the two Palestinian groups had "taken actions to internationalize its conflict with Israel," including through the International Criminal Court, and said both had continued "to support terrorism." Representatives for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization could not immediately be reached for comment. The sanctions come as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to arrive in Israel on Thursday in a bid to save Gaza ceasefire talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. Israel faces growing world pressure over the war in Gaza, and several Western powers have said they will recognise a Palestinian state.
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US sanctions Palestinian Authority officials, PLO members
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - The United States is imposing sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, saying the groups are undermining peace efforts, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday. The move prevents those targeted from receiving visas to travel to the Untied States, the statement said. "It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace."
