US pressures Palestinian UN envoy to drop General Assembly race

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — The United States is threatening to revoke the visas of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations unless the Palestinian ambassador withdraws his candidacy for vice president of the General Assembly.
In an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters, US diplomats in its Jerusalem embassy are instructed to deliver the message that Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour’s General Asembly bid risks to undermine President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan and would therefore face consequences from Washington if it went ahead.
The May 19 US cable, marked sensitive but unclassified, says Mansour "has a history of accusing Israel of genocide," and that his bid "fuels tension".
“To be clear, ‌we will hold ‌the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw ‌its ⁠VPGA candidacy,” the cable said, referring to the Palestinian Authority which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank.
Among the talking points provided in the cable to US diplomats, the State Department’s September 2025 decision to waive visa sanctions for Palestinian officials assigned to the Palestinian UN mission in New York was noted.
“It would be unfortunate to have to revisit any available options,” the cable, which was first reported by NPR, said.
The Palestinian mission at UN did not ⁠immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We take seriously our obligations ‌under the UN Headquarters Agreement,” a State Department spokesperson ‌said. “Due to visa record confidentiality, we have no comment on Department actions with respect to specific ‌cases.”
Trump’s plan for Gaza, shattered after more than two years of war, has been ‌held up by a refusal by Hamas to lay down their weapons and by continued Israeli attacks in Gaza that have undermined an October ceasefire.
The Palestinian ambassador is on a list of countries in Asia and the Pacific running in the race, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Mongolia, according to La Neice Collins, spokesperson of the office of the president of the UN General Assembly.
Mansour had already withdrawn ‌his candidacy for the presidency of the General Assembly as a result of US lobbying in February, the cable said, but added ⁠that if elected ⁠to the vice presidency, he could still get to preside over high-profile General Assembly sessions.
“In a worst-case scenario, the next PGA might assist the Palestinians in presiding over high-profile sessions related to the Middle East or during UNGA81 high-level week,” the cable said, referring to the UN General Assembly’s 81st annual high-level week due to be convened in September.
Mansour has commanded attention during U.N. sessions in ways other ambassadors have not, addressing the humanitarian plight of his people with emotional speeches and pleas for peace.
In May 2025, at the height of the war in Gaza, he choked up with tears during a speech, describing the children killed in Israeli airstrikes.
"These are children, children," he said. "The images of mothers embracing their motionless bodies, caressing their hair, talking to them, apologizing to them…It's unbearable," he said as he pounded his fist on the table and cried.
In August 2025, he said a ceasefire was the only way to save both Israeli hostages and Palestinian lives in Gaza. "It is not our destiny that the option is the continuation of killing and agony and tragedies and wars," he said.
Hady Amr, who served as a senior State Department official on Palestinian affairs under the Obama and Biden administrations, criticized the unprecedented decision to threaten visa restrictions for the Palestinian delegation.
"Short of extreme situations like Russian espionage or election interference, using visa restrictions as you are reporting is extremely rare," Amr told NPR. "Generally, it's counterproductive because you need diplomats to work out problems between countries and by expelling diplomats, you're undermining not only their ability to solve problems, but the abilities of the United States as well."
The election of the UN General Assembly president and the 16 delegations that will serve as vice presidents will be held on June 2.
The Palestinian Authority, which represents the Palestinian people at the United Nations, where the delegation is officially known as the State of Palestine, is not a full member and has no vote in the 193-member General Assembly.