The State Department on Thursday announced it is imposing sanctions that deny visas to the two interrelated Palestinian entities that have historically governed Gaza and other disputed territories in the region.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s move to block visas from being granted to members of the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization appears to mark a rebuke to two key allies of the United States, France and Great Britain, which, in recent days, rolled out plans to recognize a Palestinian state that would likely hand the PA and PLO greater control over the region.