The United States (US) has stopped approving visas for almost all individuals holding Palestinian passports, The New York Times reported.
According to reports, the new restrictions go beyond the measures announced by President Donald Trump’s administration, which only applied to residents of Gaza.
The decision will prevent Palestinian citizens from traveling to the US for medical treatment, higher education or business purposes.
Two weeks ago, the State Department announced that all visitor visas for people from Gaza would remain suspended until a “full and comprehensive” review was completed.
While Palestinian advocacy groups have strongly criticised the move, the US also recently declared that it would not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York for next month’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting where several American allies are expected to recognise Palestine as a state.
Reports added that a State Department official revealed that visas for Abbas and nearly 80 other Palestinian leaders would be canceled or rejected. The list includes representatives from the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).