Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas spoke remotely to the UN General Assembly on Thursday because the Trump administration denied him a visa, in contravention of the US agreement with the UN. He spoke of the Israeli total war on Gaza, saying that it
“is not just an act of aggression, but a war crime and a crime against humanity that has been well-documented and observed. It will be recorded by history books and by the newspapers of world conscience as one of the most dreadful chapters of the human tragedy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”
Abbas continued, saying, “I am speaking to you today, after nearly two years in which our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement by the Israeli occupation forces, during which more than 220,000 Palestinians, most of them children, women and the unarmed elderly, have been killed and injured, displaced by hundreds of thousands, prevented the arrival of food and medical supplies, and caused famine for two million Palestinians.”
Abbas said that he rejected the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and said it did not represent the Palestinian people or their struggle for justice. He affirmed that the government of Palestine (i.e. the Palestine Liberation Organization and its allies in the West Bank) is “ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security” in Gaza, insisting, “Hamas will have no role to play in governance.” He pledged that the terrorist organization would disarm, though Hamas leaders themselves have declined this suggestion.
He thanked the countries that have recently recognized Palestine or intend to do so shortly, and hailed the Saudi-French-led conference three days ago on reviving the two-state solution, ending the Israeli military occupation of Palestinians, and establishing peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. He said he hoped these countries would now demand the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations. Palestine at the moment is considered a non-member observer state of the UN, the same status enjoyed by the Vatican. The US has vetoed full Palestinian membership in the world body.
File photo of Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas in 2024. Via Wkimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Abbas underlined the following points:
1.The need for an immediate and permanent cessation of the war in Gaza.
2. The unconditional introduction of humanitarian assistance through UN organizations, including UNRWA, and the cessation of the use of starvation as a weapon.
3. Release all hostages and prisoners from both sides.
4. The complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation troops from the Gaza Strip, the rejection of plans for displacement, the cessation of settlements and of the terrorism of Israeli settlers, the theft of Palestinian land and property under the rubric of annexation, and the cessation of attacks on the historical and legal situation in the holy sites, all of which undermine the two-state solution in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
5. Ensuring that the population of the Gaza Strip remains on their land without displacement, and implementing the recovery and reconstruction plan in both Gaza and the West Bank.
The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu along with the centrist and center-right opposition all insist that they will never allow a Palestinian state.
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