Turkish president urge US to revise visa denial for Palestinians attending UN general assembly

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, September 2, urged the United States (U.S.) to revise its decision to deny visas to members of the Palestinian authority to attend the United Nations (UN) general assembly this month.

A US official on Saturday, August 30, said that Palestinian authority President Mahmud Abbas was among 80 officials from his authority who would be denied visas to attend the UN general assembly, where France is leading a push to recognise a Palestinian state.

The highly unusual decision further aligns President Donald Trump’s administration with Israel’s government, which is fighting a war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Israel adamantly rejects calls for the creation of a Palestinian state and has sought to lump together the West bank based Palestinian authority with its rival Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Speaking after returning from China, where he attended a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Erdogan said the US decision was not in line with the raison d’être of the UN.

“We believe that the decision should be revised as soon as possible,” he added.

Erdogan, a vocal defender of the Palestinians, has often slammed Israel for its war on Gaza, accusing the government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing genocide in the Palestinian territory.