Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, has told the UN General Assembly that his people are enduring what he described as a “war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement” under Israeli military action in Gaza.
Speaking via video, Abbas said more than 220,000 Palestinians had been killed or injured in nearly two years of conflict, most of them women, children, and the elderly, while two million people faced starvation under blockade. He added that over 80 per cent of Gaza’s homes, schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and infrastructure had been destroyed.
“What Israel is carrying out is not merely an aggression, it is a war crime and a crime against humanity… one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the 20th and 21st centuries,” he said.
The Palestinian leader also highlighted settler violence and expanding settlements in the West Bank, warning that the “Greater Israel” strategy was threatening to divide the territory, isolate Jerusalem, and undermine a two-state solution.
Abbas condemned the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, stressing that the actions “do not represent the Palestinian people, nor their just struggle for freedom and independence.” He insisted Gaza was an integral part of the Palestinian state and that the Palestinian Authority was ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security there under “one state, one law and one legal security force.”
“We do not want an armed state,” he said, outlining a vision of a democratic Palestine based on the rule of law, peaceful transition of power, and respect for human rights, including the empowerment of youth and women.
Turning to the international community, Abbas lamented that more than 1,000 UN resolutions on Palestine had not been implemented despite Palestinian leaders embracing peace accords since 1993. He accused Israel of systematically undermining the Oslo Accords while Palestinians adhered to their commitments, including renouncing violence and reforming institutions.
He welcomed the outcome of a high-level conference in New York co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia and thanked the growing number of states recognising Palestine, urging others to follow suit and back full UN membership.
Abbas pledged Palestine’s readiness to work with the United States, Saudi Arabia, France, the United Nations and other partners to implement the newly adopted peace plan. “Peace cannot be achieved if justice is not achieved, and there can be no justice if Palestine is not freed,” he said.
“No matter how long the suffering lasts, it will not break our will to live and survive. The dawn of freedom will emerge, and the flag of Palestine will fly high in our skies as a symbol of dignity and steadfastness.”
(NAN)