Trump administration blocks Palestinian president from attending U.N. meeting in New York

The Trump administration is barring Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from attending the meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next month, where several countries including France, Canada and the U.K. are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state.

Abbas, along with approximately 80 other officials from his Palestinian Authority (PA), had their U.S. visas revoked or denied ahead of the meeting, according to a State Department official who accused them of undermining the prospects for peace in Gaza, where Israel escalated its assault on Friday...