Al Jazeera Podcasts.

Today, the UN's 80th General Assembly opens with Palestinian leaders on the sideline.

The Trump administration is canceling the visas of several Palestinian leaders ahead of the

UN General Assembly in New York.

If Washington controls the guest list, what's left of UN neutrality and what does it mean

for Palestinian statehood?

I'm Kevin Horton, and this is the take.

Thank you. I'm Kevin Hurtain, and this is the take. My name is Bissan Ibuquake. I'm Aziziri Arabic's correspondent at the United Nations.

Well, Bison, really good to have you back on the show. We're talking on Monday as the UN General Assembly is about to begin in New York. And the big story is not what's on the agenda, but who's not at the table. Palestinian President Makamud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending. So to start, just walk me through exactly what happened there.

So what is happening this year and on the sidelines, let's say, of the high-level meeting,

there will be a resumption of a UN General Assembly session.

What's being called is like the two-state solution summit.

And it's being co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.

And in that summit, the expectation is several countries at the leadership of France

will recognize Palestinian statehood.

You have two UN Security Council permanent members.

France and the United Kingdom has so far said that they will recognize Palestine during that meeting.

You have also Canada, Malta, Australia, and Belgium, too.

They're expected to recognize Palestine at that summit.

So what's different this year is that the U.S. is not granting the Palestinian Authority and PLO members' visas to come to New York and attend a high-level week at the UN General Assembly.

This year, the familiar face of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will likely be missing, along with 80 members of his delegation

after the Trump administration denied their visas. The State Department said that is, unless they

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