Shea Levin — text status

The U.S. has denied Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to enter the country for next week’s UN General Assembly, forcing him to address the gathering virtually for the second straight year. Dozens of other PA officials were also denied visas, The Times of Israel reports. One Palestinian official’s rejection notice cited a U.S. law barring visas for individuals who engaged in terrorist activity or were associated with a terrorist organization, calling it a “permanent ineligibility.” It is not yet clear whether Abbas himself was denied on the same grounds.