US denies visa to senior Palestinian official

A senior Palestinian official says the US has denied her application for a visa to travel to the United States.

Hanan Ashrawi, a top official in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a series of tweets Monday that she believed she had been rejected for political reasons.

The US-educated Ashrawi, 72, said she has visited the US dozens of times. With her fluent English, she is a well-known Palestinian spokeswoman on TV and has met with top US officials over the past three decades.

The Palestinians severed ties with the Trump administration after it recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The US has responded with a series of punitive measures.

Ashrawi wrote: “I just hope someone can explain this to my grandchildren & all the rest of my family there.”