JERUSALEM — The Trump administration on May 19 instructed the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem to issue a démarche to Palestinian Authority leaders demanding they withdraw Ambassador Riyad Mansour's bid for a vice-presidential role in the UN General Assembly by May 22, warning that consequences would follow if they did not comply. The directive was contained in a State Department cable marked sensitive but unclassified.

The UN General Assembly is scheduled to elect 16 vice-presidents and its president on June 2 for the following session. The Palestinian delegation had been running as one of four delegations on an Asia-Pacific group slate. Vice-presidents can be deputised to oversee assembly sessions.

"In a worst case scenario, the next PGA might assist the Palestinians in presiding over high-profile sessions related to the Middle East or during UNGA81 high-level week," the cable said. It noted that Mansour had withdrawn his February candidacy for General Assembly president after American lobbying, demonstrating he "understood the gravity of the issue and intended to be constructive," and said the new vice-presidency bid "calls that into question."

The cable accused the Palestinian Authority of prioritising "symbolic appointments" over substantive engagement and said the bid "undermines President Trump's Comprehensive Plan," the administration's 20-point proposal for Gaza reconstruction that involved creating the Board of Peace. It described Mansour as having "a history of accusing Israel of genocide" and said the bid "fuels tension."

"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 cable said. It added: "To be clear. We will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its VPGA candidacy, and consequences will follow."

U.S. diplomats were also instructed to remind the Palestinian Authority that failing to "engage in good faith without internationalizing disagreements in courts" would prevent it from recouping tax and customs revenue withheld by Israel. That revenue accounts for 60% of the Palestinian Authority's income and has been largely blocked since October 2023 by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Mansour subsequently withdrew his bid, and Lebanon's ambassador is replacing him as a candidate. The Palestinian UN delegation relayed through an Arab country that Mansour would refrain from running for a vice-president position for the coming two years, a person familiar with the matter said. La Neice Collins, spokesperson for the President of the UN General Assembly, confirmed the withdrawal. The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declined to comment.

For decades, the U.S. under both Democratic and Republican administrations has opposed Palestinian attempts to gain full membership at the UN and international bodies, arguing such efforts undermined peace efforts with Israel. Ahead of the 2024 UN General Assembly, the administration denied visas to top Palestinian officials, including Abbas, but did not revoke visas for the Palestinian UN delegation. In September 2025, the State Department waived visa sanctions for Palestinian officials assigned to the PLO's UN Observer Mission in New York.

"Short of extreme situations like Russian espionage or election interference, using visa restrictions as you are reporting is extremely rare," said Hady Amr, who served as a senior U.S. State Department official on Palestinian affairs under the Obama and Biden administrations. "Generally, it's counterproductive because you need diplomats to work out problems between countries and by expelling diplomats, you're undermining not only their ability to solve problems, but the abilities of the United States as well," Amr said.