The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Friday to let Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas deliver his speech virtually at next week’s UN General Assembly after the US banned him and some 80 top PA officials from attending the high-level New York gathering.
The resolution, which expressed concern and regret about the US decision, was supported by 145 countries, with six countries abstaining and five, including Israel and the US, voting against.
The PA was also permitted under the resolution to submit a pre-recorded video or participate via teleconference in a Saudi- and French-hosted meeting at the General Assembly on Monday about the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Several Western nations have announced ahead of the meeting that they would recognize Palestinian statehood. In protest of the announcements, the administration of US President Donald Trump said last month that it would bar Abbas and other PA officials from attending.
The text of the resolution adopted Friday suggested that the US decision may have violated the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement — a charge Washington denies.
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Under the agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. However, Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
#BREAKING
General Assembly ADOPTS resolution on the participation by the State of Palestine during its eightieth session.
Voting result
In Favor: 145
Against: 5
Abstain: 6 pic.twitter.com/5B6zj5NkRM
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) September 19, 2025
Speaking before the General Assembly vote Friday, US diplomat Jonathan Shrier said, “US opposition to this resolution should come as no surprise.”
“The Trump Administration has been clear: we must hold the PLO and Palestinian Authority accountable for not complying with their commitments under the Oslo Accords, some of them very basic, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” said Shrier.
The West Bank-based PA, which was established under the 1993 Oslo Accords, has been accused by Israel of inciting terrorism through its school curriculum and through financial support to people linked to terrorist attacks. Following the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has vowed to topple the PA and take over the West Bank.
In addition to permitting Abbas to speak remotely, the 193-member UN General Assembly agreed on Friday — by consensus, without a vote — that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, could appear via video at the conference on the two-state solution on Monday.
Leaders have been allowed to address the UN General Assembly virtually in the past several years, particularly during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the general rule is that speeches are to be given in person, which is apparently why the General Assembly deemed it necessary to adopt a resolution making an exception for Abbas to speak virtually this year.
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