The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has condemned this Monday the decision of the United States Government to deny a visa to the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, as well as to other high-ranking Palestinian officials, preventing them from traveling to New York to attend this week’s United Nations General Assembly.
The spokesman for the Palestinian Islamist group, Hazem Qasem, has stated that "We condemn and denounce the decision of the U.S. Administration to deny for the second consecutive year the entry visas to the Palestinian delegation that was going to New York to participate in the work of the United Nations General Assembly."
In this regard, Qasem has insisted that the measure "represents a flagrant violation of the norms and international agreements that regulate the work of the UN headquarters," also emphasizing that "it represents a new step in the policy of total bias in favor of the Zionist occupation."
The representative of Hamas has added that the decision, also rejected by the Palestinian Government and by Al Fatah, the party led by Abbas, also represents "an attempt to prevent the just Palestinian narrative from being conveyed (in an international forum)," as reported by the Palestinian newspaper 'Filastin.'
The reaction from Hamas comes after the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Washington's stance as "unjustified" and warned that it "undermines efforts to rebuild trust, strengthen Palestinian-American relations, and advance towards a two-state solution."
Last week, the U.S. State Department reiterated that it will continue to deny visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority due to the "lack of reforms" agreed upon with Washington and to "ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace."