For the second consecutive year Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was denied a visa to travel to the US to attend the UN General Assembly. According to the US State Department, sanctions were extended due to “their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace.” If the PA cannot be faulted on one thing, it is its unfortunate commitment to international impositions and the two-state diplomacy. As Abbas has discovered, even blind adherence to the two-state is not enough to guarantee visibility in the international arena.

The EU opposed the US decision, as did the UN. In a brief statement, EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Anouar el Anouni urged the US to reconsider its decision “in light of its existing headquarters agreements with the UN and its obligations as host state.” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the other hand expressed concern about how the US decision........

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