What ultimately determines whether the UN’s report joins the list of other shocking but overlooked inquiries is whether this latest finding moves any governments, including Australia’s, to take further action.<\/p>\n
He used his address to call out the “extremist Israeli government” for both a genocide in Gaza \u2014 an accusation last week backed by a UN commission of inquiry<\/a> \u2014 and for supporting the “terrorism of settlers” in the West Bank, which is undermining the international push for a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n “What Israel is carrying out is not merely an aggression, it is a war crime and a crime against humanity that is both documented and monitored,” he said through a translator.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Mr Abbas addressed the general assembly as Israel continued its attack on Gaza City \u2014 the enclave’s largest urban area.<\/p>\n The assault has resulted in a “sharp increase” in civilian deaths in the past week, according to the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.<\/p>\n Mahmoud Abbas appeared by video after being denied a visa. (AP: Angelina Katsanis)<\/p>\n Some Israeli officials have also threatened to annex the West Bank, which is partially governed by the Palestinian Authority, in response to Australia and other nations recognising a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n But on Thursday, Mr Trump said he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would not let that happen.<\/p>\n “I’m not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank,” Mr Trump said.<\/p>\n “There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now.”<\/p>\n Multiple US media outlets have reported Mr Trump gave that pledge to Arab leaders in a meeting on the sidelines of the UN conference earlier in the week.<\/p>\n ‘Palestine is ours’<\/p>\n On Monday, Australia and nine other Western countries told a special conference they would now recognise Palestine as a sovereign state<\/a>, after refusing to for decades.<\/p>\n “Our people will not forget this noble position,” Mr Abbas said. He also thanked those who had protested around the world for Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n He said the authority was ready to work with Mr Trump, France, Saudi Arabia and the UN to implement a peace plan adopted by the General Assembly.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n