The United States has widened its visa restrictions to include nearly all Palestinian passport holders, suspending most non-immigrant visa applications beyond Gaza to now cover the West Bank and the broader Palestinian diaspora. This directive instructs consular officers to deny the vast majority of business, student, and medical travel applications from individuals presenting Palestinian Authority passports.

A US State Department spokesperson commented that the government was "taking concrete steps in compliance with US law and our national security" in relation to the new restrictions. The action follows the barring of approximately 80 Palestinian officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas, from the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York, where US authorities accused both the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation of impeding peace initiatives.

Those with dual citizenship may still seek US visas using other passports, but applicants traveling on Palestinian Authority documents now face what has been widely described as a near-total ban, with a heightened security review process in place. The shift comes amid broader US measures that have increased scrutiny on Palestinians, including tighter campus protest rules and a prior halt on visas for Gaza residents.

According to observers, this policy shift illustrates Washington’s more assertive stance toward the Palestinian leadership and further aligns US policy with its support for Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, which were launched following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.