French President Emmanuel Macron has once again demonstrated his willingness to appease terrorist-supporting regimes by condemning the United States’ entirely justified decision to deny visas to Palestinian Authority (PA) officials ahead of the United Nations General Assembly. This hypocritical stance comes at a time when France itself is grappling with unprecedented levels of Islamic antisemitism and violence against its Jewish population.
Following a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Macron called the American decision “unacceptable”. It demanded that “this measure be reversed and for Palestinian officials to be granted access”. The French president’s criticism followed the State Department’s announcement that it would deny visas to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, along with 80 other PA officials, who were planning to attend the UN General Assembly.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is denying and revoking visas from members of the PA and PLO. This decision reflects the Trump administration’s commitment to holding terrorist-supporting entities accountable for their actions. The State Department cited Palestinian appeals to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Israeli activities in Judea and Samaria as justification for the move.
The United States has full legal authority under international law to deny visas to foreign nationals. As the host country for the United Nations, the US maintains sovereign control over visa issuance and can refuse entry to individuals it deems threatening to national security or contrary to American interests. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the UN Headquarters Agreement do not mandate automatic visa approval for all foreign officials, particularly those representing entities that support terrorism.
The denial of visas to PA officials is entirely within America’s legal rights and reflects a principled stance against rewarding terrorist-supporting organizations with diplomatic privileges.
Macron’s criticism of American policy rings hollow given France’s abysmal record on protecting its Jewish citizens from rampant Islamic antisemitism. In 2024, France recorded 1,570 antisemitic acts, maintaining the unprecedented monthly average of 130 acts that has become a “new plateau”. This represents a continuation of the alarming trend that saw antisemitic crimes nearly quadruple in 2023 compared to 2022, with 1,676 reported incidents.
The statistics paint a horrifying picture of Jewish life in modern France. According to the French Ministry of the Interior, 65 percent of all religion-related attacks in France targeted Jews in 2024, with more than 10 percent involving physical violence. Nearly 60 percent of antisemitic acts involved physical violence, threatening words, or menacing gestures, with 13 percent taking place in schools, predominantly in junior high schools.
The crisis has reached such proportions that French youth are more exposed to and justify antisemitism, with French Jews under 25 years old being more likely targets of antisemitic incidents.
While Macron defends PA officials’ right to international forums, he conveniently ignores the organization’s continued financing of terrorism through its “pay-for-slay” program. The Taylor Force Act, signed into law by President Trump in 2018, was designed to cut U.S. aid until the PA ceases paying stipends through the Palestinian Authority Martyrs’ Fund to individuals who commit acts of terrorism and to families of deceased terrorists.
Despite this law, the Biden administration resumed payments to the PA that were then used towards the “pay to slay” programs.
The Palestinian Authority’s complicity extends to the October 7 massacre. Congressional findings note that on October 7, 2023, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Gaza-based terrorist organizations attacked Israel during Shabbat and the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, committing the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The PA’s continued support for terrorist activities, including financial rewards for attackers, makes them complicit in this barbaric assault on Israeli civilians.
As the Oct. 7th massacre took place while the Biden administration was giving funds to the PA, US funds were likely given to Hamas terrorists who took part in the killings of Israelis.
The Jerusalem District Court recently issued a temporary foreclosure order against the Palestinian Authority totaling approximately $781 million in response to requests from hundreds of October 7 attack victims, further demonstrating the organization’s legal culpability for terrorist activities.
Macron’s criticism becomes even more problematic when viewed alongside France’s confirmed plans to recognize a Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly. According to a Times of Israel report, France is definitively set to recognize Palestinian statehood this month, along with other Western countries. This move would legitimize an entity that continues to finance terrorism and refuses to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.
The timing of this recognition, coming after the October 7 massacre and during ongoing PA terror financing, demonstrates France’s moral bankruptcy on Middle Eastern issues. Instead of demanding accountability from Palestinian leaders, Macron seeks to reward their intransigence with statehood recognition.
As reported, attempts to work out a solution to keep the PA financially solvent “fell apart after France and other Western countries announced they would recognize a Palestinian state.” This demonstrates how Macron’s unilateral actions are destabilizing the region and undermining diplomatic efforts. In response to these planned recognitions, the Israeli Knesset voted 71-13 in favor of a non-binding motion supporting the application of sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now considering.
