Palestinian envoy drops UN vice presidency bid after US threats

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour has withdrawn his candidacy for a vice president position at the UN General Assembly following pressure from the Trump administration, the United Nations confirmed on Thursday. Lebanon's ambassador will assume the role in his place.kgou+1

US Threatened Visa Revocations

The withdrawal came days after the State Department issued a cable on Tuesday instructing the US Embassy in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian officials to drop the leadership bid or face potential revocation of their UN delegation's US visas. The cable, marked sensitive but unclassified and first published by the Guardian, stated that Mansour "has a history of accusing Israel of genocide" and that his bid "fuels tension" and undermines President Trump's peace plan for Gaza.usnews+2

"A bully pulpit for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage U.S. relations with the PA. Congress will take it extremely seriously," the cable said, according to NPR.kgou

The Palestinian delegation relayed through an Arab country that Mansour would refrain from running for the vice president position for the coming two years — a potential reference to the end of Trump's term, a person familiar with the matter told NPR on Thursday.kgou

A Pattern of Pressure

The episode marks the second time Mansour has withdrawn from a senior General Assembly role under US pressure. In February, he dropped his candidacy for president of the General Assembly following American and Israeli lobbying. The election for the General Assembly president and vice president delegations is scheduled for June 2.ynetnews+2

La Neice Collins, spokesperson for the President of the UN General Assembly, confirmed the Palestinian delegation's withdrawal on Thursday. The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.kgou

For decades, the United States under both Democratic and Republican administrations has opposed Palestinian attempts to gain full membership at the UN and international bodies, arguing such moves undermine peace efforts with Israel. Ahead of last year's General Assembly session in New York, the Trump administration denied US visas to top Palestinian officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, though it did not revoke visas for the Palestinian UN delegation at that time.kgou