On August 29, 2025, the U.S. State Department, led by Secretary Marco Rubio, announced a sweeping visa ban on Palestinian officials, including Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, blocking their attendance at the UN General Assembly in New York next month, per a New York Post report. Internal documents reveal the U.S. fears Abbas plans a “constitutional declaration” of Palestinian independence, a move seen as undermining peace efforts. The ban also targets a French-Saudi conference on a two-state solution, which the State Department calls a “propaganda victory for Hamas” by framing a Palestinian state as the only outcome of the Gaza war. This unprecedented step, affecting Abbas and 80 other officials, signals the Trump administration’s hardline stance against Palestinian unilateralism, prioritizing Israel’s security amid rising global tensions.