⭕️ Palestinian UN ambassador drops vice presidency bid after U.S. pressure Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour is withdrawing his bid for vice president of the U.N. General Assembly, NPR reported, after the U.S. threatened to revoke visas for the Palestinian delegation if he did not stand down. A State Department cable instructed U.S. diplomats in Jerusalem to warn Palestinian officials that Mansour’s candidacy “fuels tensions” and risks undermining Trump’s Gaza plan, adding: “We will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its VPGA candidacy.”  The cable noted that visa sanctions previously waived for Palestinian U.N. officials could be reinstated. The Palestinian delegation relayed, through an Arab country, that Mansour would refrain from running for the next two years, in what observers described as a potential reference to the end of President Trump’s term. Lebanon’s ambassador will take his place, the U.N. said.  Mansour had previously withdrawn his candidacy for the full presidency of the General Assembly following U.S. pressure in February, according to Reuters, which obtained the State Department cable.