The US State Department has instructed its diplomats to cease approving most visas for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, and Palestinian passport holders dwelling abroad, in accordance to a cable seen by NCS.
The inner message, dated August 18 and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, advised all embassies and consulates to refuse nonimmigrant visas to “all otherwise eligible Palestinian Authority passport holders” who’re utilizing that passport to apply for a visa. The posts have been instructed to achieve this “effective immediately.”
Nonimmigrant visas embody all kinds of visas, together with these for college students, professors, vacationers, businesspeople and people looking for medical therapy.
The sweeping refusal coverage, first reported by the New York Times, is amongst a slew of actions taken by the Trump administration to block Palestinians from coming to the United States.
On August 16, the State Department said that “all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza” have been suspended pending a overview. On Friday, the agency announced it was revoking and denying visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA), together with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, forward of the United Nations General Assembly.
The restrictions come as plenty of international locations put together to acknowledge a Palestinian state and the battle in Gaza continues to rage.
In the diplomatic cable, the State Department mentioned it was taking the motion “to ensure that such applications have undergone necessary vetting and screening protocols to ensure the applicant’s identity and eligibility for a visa under U.S. law.”
“The Trump administration is taking concrete steps in compliance with U.S. law and our national security in regards to announced visa restrictions and revocations for PA passport holders,” a State Department spokesperson mentioned. “Every visa decision is a national security decision, and the State Department is vetting and adjudicating visa decisions for PA passport holders accordingly.”
According to the cable, the refusal coverage doesn’t apply to Palestinians making use of for immigrant visas or these making use of for nonimmigrant visas utilizing a unique passport.
“This guidance does include visa applicants for diplomatic or official type visas and for individuals engaging in diplomatic and official travel purposes applying with Palestinian Authority passports,” it mentioned. “While the Department has determined that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is a competent authority for passport issuing purposes … the United States does NOT recognize the PA as a ‘foreign government.’”