Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi took to social media on Monday to share the fact that her request for a US visa had been rejected.
1/It is official! My US visa application has been rejected. No reason given. Choose any of the following: I’m over 70 & a grandmother; I’ve been an activist for Palestine since the late 1960’s; I’ve always been an ardent supporter of nonviolent resistance;
— Hanan Ashrawi (@DrHananAshrawi) May 13, 2019
“No reason given,” Ashrawi wrote before suggesting that one of three listed options was the reason for the denial, “I’m over 70 and a grandmother; I’ve been an activist for Palestine since the late 1960’s; I’ve always been an ardent supporter of nonviolent resistance," she wrote.
In the seven part post, Ashrawi said that she studied for her PhD in the US and had visited it many times, but that her grandchildren, who live in the US, would not be able to meet her there.“I’ve met…every Secretary of State since [George] Shultz and every President since George H.W. Bush,” she wrote, adding that the current Trump administration is excluded from the list.
“I have no tolerance for the Israeli occupation in all its manifestations,” she continued, adding that “I have no respect for the enablers of this inhuman condition.”
Ashrawi said she is indeed “guilty of all the above” and as such does “not deserve to set foot in the US.” The US Embassy told The Jerusalem Post that "visa records are confidential under US law; therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases."
"US law does not authorize the refusal of visas based solely on political statements or views if those statements or views would be lawful in the United States. Visas may be denied only on grounds set out in US law," the embassy added. The refusal arrives at a tense time between the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Palestinian Authority.
As the eyes of the world are turned to the yet-undisclosed Trump proposal to solve the century long Arab-Israeli conflict, also dubbed ‘the Deal of the Century,’ Palestinian leaders already announced their dismissal of the plan.
US Special Envoy Jason Greenblatt expressed his wish that Palestinian public servants would consider the American proposal before rejecting it.