Palestinian ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour, proper, attends the eightieth session of the United Nations Normal Meeting, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at UN headquarters
Angelina Katsanis/FR172095 AP
cover caption
toggle caption
Angelina Katsanis/FR172095 AP
TEL AVIV — Following stress from the U.S., the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations is withdrawing his bid for a vice chairman function on the U.N. Normal Meeting, and Lebanon’s ambassador is taking his place, the U.N. mentioned Thursday.
The Palestinian U.N. delegation relayed, by an Arab nation, that Ambassador Riyad Mansour would chorus from operating for a vice chairman place for the approaching two years, an individual accustomed to the matter instructed NPR on Thursday — a possible reference to the tip of President Trump’s time period.
The particular person spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of the two-year delay choice had not been introduced publicly.
The spokesperson of the President of the U.N. Normal Meeting, La Neice Collins, confirmed the Palestinian delegation’s withdrawal. The U.S. State Division didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The State Division on Tuesday issued a cable, obtained by NPR, instructing the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to stress Palestinian officers to drop the management bid or face the potential revocation of their U.N. delegation’s U.S. visas.
The U.S. cable, marked delicate however unclassified and first printed by the Guardian, says Mansour “has a history of accusing Israel of genocide,” and that his bid “fuels tension” and undermines President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.
“A bully pulpit for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage U.S. relations with the PA [Palestinian Authority]. Congress will take it extremely seriously,” the cable says.
For many years, the U.S. beneath each Democratic and Republican administrations has opposed Palestinian makes an attempt to realize full membership on the U.N. and worldwide our bodies, arguing they had been unilateral strikes that undermined peace efforts with Israel.
Forward of final 12 months’s U.N. Normal Meeting in New York, the Trump administration made the uncommon transfer of denying U.S. visas to prime Palestinian officers, together with President Abbas. However the U.S. didn’t revoke visas for the Palestinian delegation to the U.N.
