The United States has extended visa sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, barring Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from travelling to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly for the second consecutive year.

The State Department confirmed the decision in a statement, citing what it described as failures to reform and actions it said undermined peace prospects.

"As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials," the statement read.

The department accused the Palestinian Authority of violating US law by pursuing international recognition of Palestinian statehood outside direct negotiations, taking its dispute with Israel to international courts, and providing payments to individuals the US and Israel designate as convicted attackers and their families.

The PA mission to the United Nations will retain a waiver under the UN Headquarters Agreement, allowing its regular staff to continue working in New York even as individual officials are barred from entering the country.

Abbas had been expected to use his General Assembly address to press for international recognition of Palestinian statehood and renewed momentum behind a two-state solution. His speech was anticipated to follow a wave of recognitions this month by the United Kingdom, France, Canada and other Western governments. He was also expected to draw attention to the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the expansion of Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank.

No Israeli officials face equivalent US travel restrictions, despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Last year's ban drew criticism from Palestinian officials and UN human rights experts, who argued the visa restrictions breach the United States' obligation under the UN Headquarters Agreement to allow individuals invited by the UN to travel to its New York headquarters. Critics also argued that singling out Palestinian representatives while shielding Israeli leaders undermines Washington's stated commitment to a negotiated peace.