US Pressures Palestinians to Withdraw UN Vice-Presidency Bid

The United States has ordered its embassy in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian leaders into withdrawing their bid for a vice-presidency of the UN General Assembly, fearing the role could allow Palestinians to chair high-profile debates on the Middle East, according to a State Department cable obtained by The Guardian.

A May 19 cable instructed the U.S. embassy to issue a démarche—a formal protest—to leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA), demanding withdrawal of the bid by May 22 and warning that “consequences will follow” if they fail to comply.

The Trump administration, which has opposed all moves toward Palestinian statehood, is seeking to pressure the Palestinian observer mission at the UN to drop its candidacy for one of 16 vice-presidential positions on the General Assembly. The positions are slated for election on June 2 alongside the president of the assembly’s next year-long session, and the U.S. mission has “repeatedly appealed” to the Palestinians to stand down, the cable states.

“In a worst case scenario, the next PGA [president of the general assembly] might assist the Palestinians in presiding over high-profile sessions related to the Middle East or during UNGA81 high-level week,” the cable read, referring to a week of summits and leaders’ speeches planned for September in New York.

The Palestinians are currently running as one of four delegations on an Asia-Pacific group slate. Although the vice-presidential role is less prominent than the presidency, the cable noted that vice-presidents could be deputized to oversee General Assembly sessions.

The communication said Palestinian diplomat Riyad Mansour, the long-serving representative of the Palestinian mission, withdrew his candidacy for General Assembly president in February after American lobbying—a move Washington said showed he “understood the gravity of the issue and intended to be constructive.”

It warned that the vice-presidency bid “calls that into question” and accuses the PA of prioritizing “symbolic appointments” over substantive engagement. The candidacy, the cable reads, “undermines President Trump’s Comprehensive Plan”—the administration’s 20-point proposal for a U.S.-led reconstruction of Gaza that involved creating the U.S.-chaired Board of Peace.

“A bully pulpit for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage US relations with the PA. Congress will take it extremely seriously,” the State Department cable said, adding: “To be clear. We will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its VPGA candidacy, and consequences will follow.”

The cable suggested using two specific threats. It recalled that in August, before the previous UN summit week, the Trump administration denied and revoked all visas for Palestinian officials, but a few days later waived the restrictions on officials already assigned to the mission.

“It would be unfortunate to have to revisit any available options,” the cable said, in an apparent threat to revoke visas for the Palestinian UN mission.

Separately, under a section titled “if raised,” U.S. diplomats were instructed to remind the Palestinians that if they did not “engage in good faith without internationalizing disagreements in courts,” they would make no progress in recouping tax and customs revenue owed to them but withheld by the Israeli government.

The funds, which account for 60% of total PA revenue, have been largely blocked since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023 by Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who has called for the destruction of the PA. Smotrich revealed Tuesday that the International Criminal Court was seeking an arrest warrant against him.

He did not specify what crimes he had been charged with, but he has been under ICC scrutiny for his central role in expanding settlements and displacing Palestinians in the West Bank.

The U.S. State Department has been approached for comment.