The Trump administration has imposed a freeze on almost all types of visa applications for individuals holding a Palestinian Authority passport, multiple media outlets reported.
An internal State Department cable, dated Aug. 18, instructed U.S. embassies and consulates to reject such visas to "all otherwise eligible Palestinian Authority passport holders" who are using that passport to apply for a visa.
The cable stated that the action was "to ensure that such applications have undergone necessary vetting and screening protocols to ensure the applicant's identity and eligibility for a visa under U.S. law," The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The new policy doesn't affect Palestinians who have obtained visas or dual nationality Palestinians using a different passport to apply, the Journal reported. But cracking down on nonimmigrant visas would have far-reaching effects. Business travelers, tourists, students, professors and even those visiting family in the U.S. could be impacted.
While the scope of the visa freeze is broad — affecting nearly all Palestinian Authority passport holders — authoritative media and government sources have not yet published comprehensive figures on the total number of individuals impacted.
That includes the absence of data on how many students, business travelers, medical patients, or tourism applicants are being denied or delayed.
A State Department spokesperson told Newsmax on Monday that "the Trump administration is taking concrete steps in compliance with U.S. law and our national security" and that "every visa decision is a national security decision, and the State Department is vetting and adjudicating visa decisions for PA passport holders accordingly."
Last month, the State Department said it was pausing all tourist visas for individuals from the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been fighting Hamas since the Iranian-backed group's terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, while it conducts "a full and thorough" review.
And on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the visas of dozens of Palestinian officials, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, ahead of the U.N. General Assembly set for Sept. 9 in New York.
"The Trump Administration has been clear: It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organization] and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace," the State Department said Friday in a news release. "Before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism — including the October 7 massacre — and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO.
"The PA must also end its attempts to bypass negotiations through international lawfare campaigns, including appeals to the ICC [International Criminal Court] and ICJ [International Court of Justice], and efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state. Both steps materially contributed to Hamas' refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks."
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.