The US State Department denied Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi an entry visa May 13. A State Department official told the Associated Press that the United States "does not refuse visas based solely on people’s political views or statements,” but Ashrawi and others believe the visa denial is a blatantly political act.

One can’t help but recall the words of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who, speaking to students at Texas A&M University on April 15, said, “I was a CIA director, we lied, we cheated we stole … we had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.” Though Pompeo was referring to the actions of the CIA, the State Department may be engaged in similar tactics when it says that the denial of Ashrawi's visa was not a political act.

Ashrawi told the Associated Press that "of course," it was a political act, and one that was full of “pettiness and vindictiveness.”

Ashrawi, 72, is a member of the PLO Executive Committee, a position she has held since 2009. She's also a grandmother, and several of her grandchildren live in the United States. She told Al-Monitor that she completed her graduate studies at the University of Virginia in medieval and comparative literature and that she visits the United States two or three times a year.