\n\tLONDON: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for an end to the war in Gaza and condemned Israel\u2019s \u201cexpansionary plans,\u201d in a virtual address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe demanded \u201cintervention\u201d to stop Israel\u2019s war in Gaza and settler violence in the West Bank, warning that plans for a \u201cGreater Israel\u201d would encroach upon the territory of other Arab states.<\/p>\n
\n\tGaza is \u201ca war of genocide, destruction, starvation, and displacement,\u201d Abbas said, adding that more than 220,000 Palestinians \u2014 the majority of them women, children and the elderly \u2014 have been killed or injured in the enclave since October 2023.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe accused Israel of starving more than 2 million people, and of destroying 80 percent of Gaza\u2019s buildings.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhat Israel is carrying out isn\u2019t merely an aggression. It\u2019s a war crime and a crime against humanity that\u2019s both documented and monitored,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAbbas said Israel\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tHe noted the unchecked, violent behavior of settlers in the West Bank, saying: \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAbbas cited recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a \u201cGreater Israel,\u201d and the recent Israeli strikes in Qatar, as reasons for concern for the broader Arab world, calling them \u201can escalation that\u2019s a grave and a blatant violation of international law, which requires a decisive intervention and deterring procedures and measures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHe 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.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThese actions don\u2019t represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve affirmed, and will continue to affirm, that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the state of Palestine, and that we\u2019re ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHamas won\u2019t 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\u2019t want an armed state.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAbbas added that though the Palestinian people \u201care still living the tragedies of the Israeli aggression and occupation,\u201d progress is being made on an independent Palestinian state following high-level diplomatic efforts led by Saudi Arabia and France at a meeting on Sept. 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tHe 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. \u201cOur people won\u2019t forget this noble position,\u201d Abbas said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAbbas 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.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe 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.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe want a modern and democratic state that abides by international law, the rule of law and multilateralism, and the peaceful transition of power,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe declare that we\u2019re ready to work with US President Donald Trump, and with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France, the UN, and all partners to implement the peace plan that was approved in the conference that was held on Sept. 22.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAbbas said: \u201cPeace can\u2019t be achieved if justice isn\u2019t achieved, and there can be no justice if Palestine isn\u2019t freed.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe want to live in freedom, security and peace \u2014 like all other people on Earth \u2014 in an independent sovereign state on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as our capital, in security and peace with our neighbors.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe want a modern civilian state that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHe added: \u201cPalestine is ours. Jerusalem is the jewel of our heart and our eternal capital. We won\u2019t leave our homeland. We won\u2019t leave our lands. Our people will remain rooted like the olive trees, firm as the rocks.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ll 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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