The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that it is “denying and revoking visas” for Palestinian officials ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York City next month, where several states are expected to recognize a Palestinian state.

In a statement , Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s office said that it is denying visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA), claiming they are backers of “terrorism.” Rubio’s office also accused the political groups of waging “lawfare campaigns” in international courts and attempting to “secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state.”

“Both steps materially contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks,”

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