Palestinians drop bid for a senior U.N. role after U.S. pressure

Riyad Mansour withdrew his candidacy for a vice president role at the U.N. General Assembly for the next two years after pressure from the United States. The Palestinian U.N. delegation communicated the decision through an Arab country, and the spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly confirmed the withdrawal. Lebanon’s ambassador is set to take Mansour’s place. A U.S. State Department cable instructed the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian officials to drop the leadership bid or risk revocation of U.S. visas for the U.N. delegation. The cable cited Mansour’s history of accusing Israel of genocide, said the bid would fuel tension, and argued it would undermine U.S. efforts tied to a Gaza peace plan.

"Following pressure from the U.S., the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations is withdrawing his bid for a vice president role at the U.N. General Assembly, and Lebanon's ambassador is taking his place, the U.N. said Thursday. The Palestinian U.N. delegation relayed, through an Arab country, that Ambassador Riyad Mansour would refrain from running for a vice president position for the coming two years, a person familiar with the matter told NPR on Thursday a potential reference to the end of President Trump's term."

"The U.S. cable, marked sensitive but unclassified and first published by the Guardian, says Mansour "has a history of accusing Israel of genocide," and that his bid "fuels tension" and undermines President Trump's peace plan for Gaza. "A bully pulpit for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage U.S. relations with the PA [Palestinian Authority]. Congress will take it extremely seriously," the cable says."

"The State Department on Tuesday issued a cable, obtained by NPR, instructing the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian officials to drop the leadership bid or face the potential revocation of their U.N. delegation's U.S. visas. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the two-year delay decision had not been announced publicly."

"For decades, the U.S. under both Democratic and Republican administrations has opposed Palestinian attempts to gain full membership at the U.N. and international bodies, arguing they were unilateral moves that undermined peace efforts with Israel. Ahead of last year's U.N. General Assembly in New York, the Trump administration made the rare move of denying U.S. visas to top Palestinian officials, including President"

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