Leaked State Department Cable Orders U.S. Diplomats to Threaten Palestinian Visas Unless U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour Withdraws His Bid for a General Assembly Vice Presidency

WASHINGTON — A leaked U.S. State Department cable instructs American diplomats in Jerusalem and at U.N. headquarters in New York to pressure the Palestinian Authority into withdrawing its candidacy for one of the 21 vice-president positions of the U.N. General Assembly, warning that failure to do so could result in the revocation of Palestinian diplomatic visas. The May 19 cable, marked 'sensitive but unclassified' and obtained by NPR, names Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour, the longtime senior diplomat for the Palestinian observer mission, as the official the United States wants pushed out of the race.

The cable specifies that Mansour 'has a history of accusing Israel of genocide' and that the Palestinian candidacy 'fuels tension' and 'undermines President Trump's peace plan for Gaza.' The cable was sent by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Hala Rharrit and directs the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem to deliver the demand to Palestinian officials by the close of business this week. Diplomats are instructed to communicate that the United States retains the authority under U.S. immigration law to revoke the diplomatic visas of any Palestinian Authority officials accredited to the U.N. if Mansour does not stand down.

Hady Amr, the former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel-Palestinian affairs in the Biden administration, told NPR the cable's threat is 'unprecedented' in modern American diplomacy. 'Short of extreme situations like Russian espionage or election interference, using visa restrictions as you are reporting is extremely rare. Generally, it's counterproductive because you need diplomats to work out problems between countries,' Amr said. He added that the Palestinians, who hold observer-state status at the U.N., are routinely elected to subordinate U.N. positions and rotational vice-presidencies as a matter of regional balance.

The General Assembly elects 21 vice presidents at the start of each annual session, distributed by geographic blocs, with the Asia-Pacific Group typically rotating the slot the Palestinians are seeking. Mansour, 78, has held the Palestinian U.N. portfolio since 2005 and is one of the most experienced diplomats in the building. The cable acknowledges that other countries in the Asia-Pacific group already back his bid and instructs U.S. missions to lobby member states to either change their votes or persuade the Palestinians to drop out before the ballot is held in September.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of the Trump administration's Gaza peace plan, which the State Department has called 'historic' but which the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have publicly rejected over its provisions on Israeli security control and a U.S.-led transitional administration. The administration has also withheld funding from UNRWA and pushed allies to follow suit. President Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House that 'we're not going to reward people who go to the U.N. to attack our partner Israel,' adding that 'they can either help with peace or they can find another place to be a diplomat.'

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon welcomed the cable, writing on social media that 'the U.S. is finally treating the Palestinian campaign of lawfare with the seriousness it deserves.' Palestinian officials in Ramallah condemned the move as collective diplomatic punishment. Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian envoy to London, called it 'an attempt to silence Palestinian voices in the only international forum where we have a seat at the table.' The General Assembly vote on the new vice presidents is scheduled for September; Mansour told reporters Wednesday evening that he has 'no intention of withdrawing' and that he serves at the direction of the Palestinian leadership.