Palestine leader to UN: no room for Hamas in post-war Gaza, calls Israeli war ‘genocide’
Mahmoud Abbas spoke to UN General Assembly via video after his US visa was revoked, offered a vision for a Gaza run by Palestinian Authority
Speaking over video after the United States revoked his visa, the Palestinian leader told world leaders on Thursday that his people reject the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and pledged that the militant group would have no role in governing the Gaza Strip after the war ends and must hand over its weapons to his administration. Said Mahmoud Abbas to his people: “The dawn of freedom will emerge.”
Mahmoud Abbas told the UN General Assembly that Palestinians in Gaza “have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement” by Israel. His speech came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to New York to give his own address in person on Friday.
In a short but resolute speech, Abbas laid out his continued vision for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel. That two-state solution has gained traction after a string of countries – including top US allies – announced recognition of a Palestinian state this past week.
But it also appears further than ever from the realities on the ground. Netanyahu’s government has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state.
He says his administration is ‘ready’
Israeli troops control most of the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu says Israel will maintain security control over the territory after Hamas is defeated, and he has rejected giving Abbas’ Palestinian Authority any role there. Some ministers in Netanyahu’s government have pushed for annexing the occupied West Bank, where Abbas’ authority currently administers small pockets of territory.