Barred from the U.S., Abbas Addresses the UN: Hold Israel Accountable — Our People Are Being Subjected to Killings

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday to hold Israel accountable and ensure the viability of the two-state solution.

“What is the international community waiting for to protect the Palestinian people, to ensure their continued presence on their land, to end the Israeli occupation and to implement the two-state solution on the basis of international legitimacy?” Abbas asked.

Abbas said the Palestinian people are facing “one of the most dangerous times” in their history after three years of war in Gaza.

“In the Gaza Strip, our people are being subjected to killings, destruction, starvation, displacement attempts, as well as a genocidal war by the Israeli occupying forces that has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” Abbas said.

The Trump administration barred Abbas from entering the United States for the UN General Assembly, forcing the leader to speak virtually from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Abbas spoke a day after a “high-level” meeting of the Trump-led Board of Peace, which estimated that rebuilding Gaza will require $71.4 billion over the next decade. The Board drafted a six-month plan to begin rebuilding Gaza, even as it acknowledged the plan can only begin “the moment funding and access allow”.

The Trump administration’s 20-point ceasefire plan, stalled since last October, required a reformed Palestinian Authority to take control of Gaza in the future. But the U.S. has barely engaged publicly with the Palestinian Authority since the deal took effect 11 months ago. Abbas called on the Trump administration to “lift these sanctions” and “return to dialogue and mutual respect”.