Abbas to Address General Assembly by Video After U.S. Visa Denial
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, was to deliver Palestine's address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, September 24, 2026. WAFA
The address was set to proceed by video. In September 2026, the United Nations allowed Abbas to address the General Assembly via video after the United States denied him a visa. Reuters The authorization was decisive. It received 152 votes. Reuters
The Assembly adopted a resolution on the participation by the State of Palestine during its eighty-first session by recorded vote. UN Web TV The recorded vote created the procedural authority for the video statement in the plenary calendar for that session.
Pre-recorded and remote delivery by Abbas has prior use in the Assembly. Abbas was listed as a pre-recorded speaker for the 76th session General Assembly plenary on Friday, 24 September 2021 at 3:00 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall. UN He delivered an address on Friday, 24 September 2021, at the 12th meeting of the General Assembly. UN Digital Library
A later cycle followed the same pattern of a scheduled plenary address. President Mahmoud Abbas was scheduled to deliver the State of Palestine address to the General Assembly on Thursday, September 26 in connection with the 79th session. WAFA UN General Assembly document A/79/PV.11 refers to an address by Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine. UN Digital Library
In his Assembly remarks, Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly that Palestinians in Gaza "have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement". PBS The formulation centers conditions in Gaza in the Palestinian presentation to member states.
The broader context here is about procedure carrying political weight. A participation resolution, adopted by recorded vote, turns a question of physical access into a formal decision of the membership. The tally of 152 provides a measurable indication of support for ensuring the statement is heard in the Hall even when the speaker cannot be present. For diplomats who track voting patterns, that number will be read alongside the text of the statement itself.
Looking at what this means for the general debate, video preserves a place on the speakers list. It cannot replicate presence. Informal exchange around the Assembly, direct contact with counterparts, and the ability to respond in real time to other interventions are structured around being in New York. A remote address therefore keeps the Palestinian position in the verbatim record while leaving open how other delegations engage with it bilaterally and in subsequent consultations.
