LONDON: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for an end to the war in Gaza and condemned Israel’s “expansionary plans,” in a virtual address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
He demanded “intervention” to stop Israel’s war in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank, warning that plans for a “Greater Israel” would encroach upon the territory of other Arab states.
Gaza is “a war of genocide, destruction, starvation, and displacement,” Abbas said, adding that more than 220,000 Palestinians — the majority of them women, children and the elderly — have been killed or injured in the enclave since October 2023.
He accused Israel of starving more than 2 million people, and of destroying 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings.
“What Israel is carrying out isn’t merely an aggression. It’s a war crime and a crime against humanity that’s both documented and monitored,” he said.
“And it will be recorded in history books and the pages of international conscience as one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the 20th and 21st centuries.”
Abbas said Israel’s settlement plans in the West Bank, including the E1 project, would make a two-state solution unviable and contravene international law and several UN Security Council resolutions.
He noted the unchecked, violent behavior of settlers in the West Bank, saying: “They burn homes and fields. They uproot trees and attack villages, and attack unarmed Palestinian civilians. In fact, they kill them in broad daylight under the protection of the Israeli occupation army.”
Abbas cited recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a “Greater Israel,” and the recent Israeli strikes in Qatar, as reasons for concern for the broader Arab world, calling them “an escalation that’s a grave and a blatant violation of international law, which requires a decisive intervention and deterring procedures and measures.”
He was equally unequivocal in condemning the Hamas attack on Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, demanding the immediate release of all remaining hostages in Gaza and the disarming of the group.
“These actions don’t represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence,” he said.
“We’ve affirmed, and will continue to affirm, that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the state of Palestine, and that we’re ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there.
“Hamas won’t have a role to play in governance. Hamas and the other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian Authority as part of a process to build the institutions of one state, one law and one legal security forces. We reiterate that we don’t want an armed state.”
Abbas added that though the Palestinian people “are still living the tragedies of the Israeli aggression and occupation,” progress is being made on an independent Palestinian state following high-level diplomatic efforts led by and France at a meeting on Sept. 22.
He thanked the two countries for their efforts, as well as a raft of other governments that have recently recognized Palestinian statehood or announced plans to do so, including the UK, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Portugal and others. “Our people won’t forget this noble position,” Abbas said.
“We highly appreciate all the peoples and organizations around the world who protested in support of the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence, and to stop the war, destruction and starvation,” he said.
“We reject confusing the solidarity with the Palestinian cause and the issue of antisemitism, which is something that we reject based on our values and principles.”
Abbas reaffirmed the need for aid to be allowed to flow freely into Gaza through the UN, an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, the release of prisoners on both sides, and an end to aggression at religious sites.
He said it is essential that the people of Gaza not be displaced from their land, that Israel release confiscated taxes to help in the reconstruction of the Occupied Territories, and called for support for the PA to hold nationwide elections within a year of the end of hostilities.
“We want a modern and democratic state that abides by international law, the rule of law and multilateralism, and the peaceful transition of power,” he added.
“We declare that we’re ready to work with US President Donald Trump, and with the Kingdom of and France, the UN, and all partners to implement the peace plan that was approved in the conference that was held on Sept. 22.”
Abbas said: “Peace can’t be achieved if justice isn’t achieved, and there can be no justice if Palestine isn’t freed.
“We want to live in freedom, security and peace — like all other people on Earth — in an independent sovereign state on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as our capital, in security and peace with our neighbors.
“We want a modern civilian state that’s free of violence, weapons and extremism, one that respects law, human rights and invests in people, development, technology and education, not in wars and conflict.”
He added: “Palestine is ours. Jerusalem is the jewel of our heart and our eternal capital. We won’t leave our homeland. We won’t leave our lands. Our people will remain rooted like the olive trees, firm as the rocks.
“We’ll rise from under the rubble to rebuild, and to send from our blessed and holy land the messages of hope and the sound of truth and right, and build the bridges of a just peace for the people of our region and the entire world.”
