Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour is withdrawing his bid for vice president of the UN General Assembly after the US threatened to revoke visas for the Palestinian delegation if he did not drop the bid, NPR reported.
Citing a source familiar with the matter, the report said Lebanon’s ambassador is taking Mansour’s place after the Palestinian UN delegation relayed through an Arab country that Mansour will refrain from running for a vice presidential position for the next two years.
The spokesperson of the president of the UN General Assembly, La Neice Collins, confirmed the Palestinian delegation’s withdrawal.
An internal US State Department cable on Tuesday had instructed its diplomats in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian officials to drop the bid, claiming that his candidacy undermines US President Donald Trump’s plans for Gaza.
Read more: Palestinian UN ambassador withdraws General Assembly vice presidency bid after US pressure
