France has insisted there should be no restrictions on access to next month's UN General Assembly, after the United States said it would deny visas to members of the Palestinian Authority. Under an agreement as the host of UN headquarters in New York, the US is not supposed to refuse visas for officials heading to the world body.

"A UN General Assembly meeting... should not be subject to any restrictions on access," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Denmark on Saturday.

 A string of ministers in Copenhagen echoed France's call for the United States to allow access to the Palestinian delegation.

In a statement on Friday, the US State Department said that it was "denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming 80th United Nations General Assembly, which begins on 9 September.  

"The Trump administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace," the statement said.

'Clear contradiction to international law'

The extraordinary step by Washington comes as France is leading a global appeal to recognise the Palestinian state at the gathering of world leaders in New York.

The move further aligns US President Donald Trump's administration with Israel's government, which has been waging a war in Gaza since Hamas launched terror attacks on Israeli territory on 7 October 2023.

Israel adamantly rejects a Palestinian state and has sought to conflate the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority with its rival Hamas, which rules Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, writing on X, thanked the Trump administration "for this bold step and for standing by Israel once again".

The Palestinian Authority called for the United States to reverse its decision, which it said "stands in clear contradiction to international law and the UN Headquarters Agreement".

Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas, a veteran 89-year-old leader who once had cordial relations with Washington, had planned to attend the UN meeting, according to the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour..

Under an agreement as host of the United Nations in New York, the United States is not meant to refuse visas for officials heading to the world body.