Palestinian UN Ambassador Bassam Mannoush has withdrawn his bid for a vice presidency at the General Assembly following US threats to revoke the US visas of Palestinian officials. The US has already revoked most of them but threatened further consequences to Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority (PA) if their application is not withdrawn by Friday.
Palestinian UN Ambassador Drops Bid for VP of General Assembly Following US Threats “A Palestinian vice presidency at the General Assembly would not change power realities on the ground, but it would normalize Palestinian statehood claims...
That is precisely what the United States is attempting to block. ”He has been Palestine’s permanent UN observer for more than two decades and had earlier this year planned to run for president of the General Assembly, though hesent a diplomatic cable to the US embassy in Jerusalem instructing it to pressure the Palestinian Authority —the governing body of the occupied West Bank—to withdraw its bid for one of the 21 vice presidencies of the General Assembly as well.
General Assembly vice presidents have a role in setting the body’s agenda and filling in when the president is absent. The UN is scheduled to hold elections amongst Assembly members on June 2.groups and experts have—and that his presence would “undermine” the objectives of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” insaid has fallen fall short of its promises to provide aid to Palestinians and has allowed Israeli forces to continue killing them with little pushback despite a ceasefire.
The cable said, “We will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its candidacy” by Friday, “and consequences will follow. ” The cable threatened to revoke the US visas of all Palestinian officials. The US already revoked most of them back in August, but rolled back the ban on those who were visiting as part of the annual UN summit.
“It would be unfortunate to have to revisit any available options,” the cable said. It also threatened that Israel would continue to withhold tax revenue that it owes to the Palestinian Authority, which was blocked by Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, at the beginning of the war in October 2023.
The money being withheld by Israel accounts for 60% of the PA's revenue.that Mansour specifically would refrain from running for the position for the next two years, which was interpreted as a reference to the end of Trump's term as president. The US is prohibited from blocking UN officials from visiting the body's New York headquarters under a 1947 agreement.
However, the US has blocked visas for officials from enemy countries, including Russia and Iran, as well as the former leader of the Hady Amr, who served as a senior State Department official on Palestinian affairs under the Obama and Biden administrations, toldAmr said, "Generally, it's counterproductive because you need diplomats to work out problems between countries, and by expelling diplomats, you're undermining not only their ability to solve problems, but the abilities of theis effectively trying to prevent even symbolic Palestinian institutional visibility within the UN system because it understands that international legitimacy matters politically, legally, and diplomatically," Al-Ghussein said.
"A Palestinian vice presidency at the General Assembly would not change power realities on the ground, but it would normalize Palestinian statehood claims within the architecture of international governance itself. That is precisely what the United States is attempting to block.
"and international order is reportedly threatening visas and diplomatic consequences to stop Palestinians from holding a largely ceremonial UN role,” he continued. "It reveals once again that the issue was never 'peace negotiations' as such, but control over who is permitted institutional legitimacy in the international system. " It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits.
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But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. He has been Palestine’s permanent UN observer for more than two decades and had earlier this year planned to run for president of the General Assembly, though hesent a diplomatic cable to the US embassy in Jerusalem instructing it to pressure the Palestinian Authority —the governing body of the occupied West Bank—to withdraw its bid for one of the 21 vice presidencies of the General Assembly as well.
General Assembly vice presidents have a role in setting the body’s agenda and filling in when the president is absent. The UN is scheduled to hold elections amongst Assembly members on June 2.groups and experts have—and that his presence would “undermine” the objectives of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” insaid has fallen fall short of its promises to provide aid to Palestinians and has allowed Israeli forces to continue killing them with little pushback despite a ceasefire.
The cable said, “We will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its candidacy” by Friday, “and consequences will follow. ” The cable threatened to revoke the US visas of all Palestinian officials. The US already revoked most of them back in August, but rolled back the ban on those who were visiting as part of the annual UN summit.
“It would be unfortunate to have to revisit any available options,” the cable said. It also threatened that Israel would continue to withhold tax revenue that it owes to the Palestinian Authority, which was blocked by Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, at the beginning of the war in October 2023.
The money being withheld by Israel accounts for 60% of the PA's revenue.that Mansour specifically would refrain from running for the position for the next two years, which was interpreted as a reference to the end of Trump's term as president. The US is prohibited from blocking UN officials from visiting the body's New York headquarters under a 1947 agreement.
However, the US has blocked visas for officials from enemy countries, including Russia and Iran, as well as the former leader of the Hady Amr, who served as a senior State Department official on Palestinian affairs under the Obama and Biden administrations, toldAmr said, "Generally, it's counterproductive because you need diplomats to work out problems between countries, and by expelling diplomats, you're undermining not only their ability to solve problems, but the abilities of theis effectively trying to prevent even symbolic Palestinian institutional visibility within the UN system because it understands that international legitimacy matters politically, legally, and diplomatically," Al-Ghussein said.
"A Palestinian vice presidency at the General Assembly would not change power realities on the ground, but it would normalize Palestinian statehood claims within the architecture of international governance itself. That is precisely what the United States is attempting to block.
"and international order is reportedly threatening visas and diplomatic consequences to stop Palestinians from holding a largely ceremonial UN role,” he continued. "It reveals once again that the issue was never 'peace negotiations' as such, but control over who is permitted institutional legitimacy in the international system.
"He has been Palestine’s permanent UN observer for more than two decades and had earlier this year planned to run for president of the General Assembly, though hesent a diplomatic cable to the US embassy in Jerusalem instructing it to pressure the Palestinian Authority —the governing body of the occupied West Bank—to withdraw its bid for one of the 21 vice presidencies of the General Assembly as well. General Assembly vice presidents have a role in setting the body’s agenda and filling in when the president is absent.
The UN is scheduled to hold elections amongst Assembly members on June 2.groups and experts have—and that his presence would “undermine” the objectives of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” insaid has fallen fall short of its promises to provide aid to Palestinians and has allowed Israeli forces to continue killing them with little pushback despite a ceasefire. The cable said, “We will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its candidacy” by Friday, “and consequences will follow.
” The cable threatened to revoke the US visas of all Palestinian officials. The US already revoked most of them back in August, but rolled back the ban on those who were visiting as part of the annual UN summit.
“It would be unfortunate to have to revisit any available options,” the cable said. It also threatened that Israel would continue to withhold tax revenue that it owes to the Palestinian Authority, which was blocked by Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, at the beginning of the war in October 2023.
The money being withheld by Israel accounts for 60% of the PA's revenue.that Mansour specifically would refrain from running for the position for the next two years, which was interpreted as a reference to the end of Trump's term as president. The US is prohibited from blocking UN officials from visiting the body's New York headquarters under a 1947 agreement.
However, the US has blocked visas for officials from enemy countries, including Russia and Iran, as well as the former leader of the Hady Amr, who served as a senior State Department official on Palestinian affairs under the Obama and Biden administrations, toldAmr said, "Generally, it's counterproductive because you need diplomats to work out problems between countries, and by expelling diplomats, you're undermining not only their ability to solve problems, but the abilities of theis effectively trying to prevent even symbolic Palestinian institutional visibility within the UN system because it understands that international legitimacy matters politically, legally, and diplomatically," Al-Ghussein said.
"A Palestinian vice presidency at the General Assembly would not change power realities on the ground, but it would normalize Palestinian statehood claims within the architecture of international governance itself. That is precisely what the United States is attempting to block.
"and international order is reportedly threatening visas and diplomatic consequences to stop Palestinians from holding a largely ceremonial UN role,” he continued. "It reveals once again that the issue was never 'peace negotiations' as such, but control over who is permitted institutional legitimacy in the international system. " The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful.
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Palestinian UN Ambassador US Threats VP Of General Assembly General Assembly Hold The PA Responsible Palestinian Delegation Bassem Mansour Palestinian VA Palestine's UN Observer Palestinian Statehood Claims Norma Jean Al-Ghussein Palestinian Institutional Visibility International Legitimacy US Blocking Visas Control Over International System
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