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

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Palestinians drop bid for a senior U. pressure May 21, 20262:49 PM ET Daniel Estrin Palestinian ambassador to the U. Riyad Mansour, right, attends the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept.

23, 2025, at UN headquarters Angelina Katsanis/FR172095 AP hide caption toggle caption Angelina Katsanis/FR172095 AP TEL AVIV — Following pressure from the U. , the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations is withdrawing his bid for a vice president role at the U. General Assembly, a person familiar with the matter told NPR on Thursday.

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delegation relayed, through an Arab country, that Ambassador Riyad Mansour would refrain from running for a vice president position for the coming two years, the person said — a potential reference to the end of President Trump's term. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced publicly. The spokesperson of the President of the U.

General Assembly, La Neice Collins, said she did not have information about the matter. The State Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Sponsor Message The State Department on Tuesday issued a cable, obtained by NPR, instructing the U.

Embassy in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian officials to drop the leadership bid or face the potential revocation of their U. 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.

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relations with the PA . Congress will take it extremely seriously," the cable says. under both Democratic and Republican administrations has opposed Palestinian attempts to gain full membership at the U.

and international bodies, arguing they were unilateral moves that undermined peace efforts with Israel. Ahead of last year's U. General Assembly in New York, the Trump administration made the rare move of denying U.

visas to top Palestinian officials, including President Abbas. did not revoke visas for the Palestinian delegation to the U.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.