PA president’s son unsuccessfully sought to skirt US ban on Palestinian officials

Yasser Abbas, son and top aide of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, was denied boarding a flight from Dubai to New York after attempting to use his Canadian passport to bypass a US entry ban on Palestinian officials. The State Department extended the ban, citing alleged violations of US laws requiring renunciation of terrorism and support for a negotiated settlement. Abbas planned UN delegation meetings and a Chicago trip.

Yasser Abbas, the son and top aide of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, was denied boarding a flight from Dubai to New York on Thursday after attempting to use his Canadian passport to circumvent a US entry ban on Palestinian officials. A US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed the denial, citing a lack of proper entry documents. Abbas had planned to hold meetings with UN delegations in New York and travel to Chicago to meet Palestinian Americans, as part of preparations for the upcoming Palestine Liberation Organization council election. Banned from the US, he instead flew to Canada to meet with the Palestinian diaspora. The State Department extended the entry ban, alleging the PA and PLO violated US federal legislation requiring renunciation of terrorism and acceptance of a negotiated settlement. PA officials insist they have renounced violence and support a two-state solution. Yasser Abbas, a Canadian citizen and businessman, was recently elected to the Fatah Central Committee, sparking allegations of nepotism and corruption. The PA faces upcoming elections amid internal Fatah ruptures and questions about balloting in the war-decimated Gaza Strip.