Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told the United Nations General Assembly “we will not leave our lands” in the face of Israeli attacks.
He told the summit that the Palestinian flag “will fly high in our skies as a symbol of dignity, steadfastness, and being free from the yoke of occupation”.
“No matter how long the suffering lasts, it will not break our will to live and survive, the dawn of freedom will emerge,” he said.
Mr Abbas was speaking virtually in New York after the US blocked his entry to the country for the annual summit, and said the people of Gaza “have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement”.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
He told the summit that Israel has “imposed a stifling siege on an entire” population and destroyed more than 80% of homes, schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, facilities and infrastructure.
“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,” he added.
‘We do not want an armed state’
High-level talks in European football about whether to ban Israel from international competitions
Israel kills 22 people including nine children in ‘horrific massacre’ in Gaza, Palestinian officials say
‘Your countries are going to hell’: Trump vs the world at the UN
Mr Abbas vowed to work on a peace plan for Gaza with US President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Nations after the world body overwhelmingly endorsed a seven-page declaration that aims to advance a two-state solution and an end to the war.
“Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7th – acts that targeted Israeli civilians and took them as hostages – because such actions do not represent the Palestinian people nor their just struggle for freedom and independence,” Mr Abbas said.
“We have affirmed – and will continue to affirm – that Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and that we are ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security there. Hamas will have no role in governance, and it – along with other factions – must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian National Authority.
“We reiterate that we do not want an armed state.”
US correspondent
Speeches by Mahmoud Abbas can be dense.
The Palestinian Authority president tends to get into the weeds – an understandable habit, given the intractable nature of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
But his style, combined with his age (he is 89) and his illegitimacy (he has been in power since 2005 with no elections since then) make him a somewhat marginalised figure. He tends to generate eye-rolls rather than prompting people to sit up and listen.
Yet, like it or not, he leads the body – the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) – that must have a key role in the future path for Palestinians
His speech at the UN felt a little different. It was more focused, less dense. He clearly recognises the need to hit certain buttons and to avoid the temptations for criticism.
He could easily have criticised Donald Trump. It is Trump who denied him and his delegation visas to come to the UN in New York.
It is Trump who is allowing Israel to continue its war in Gaza. But Abbas chose not to be critical.
He knows it’s not remotely in the Palestinian national interest to be critical or Trump. Instead, he said he looked forward to working with Trump.
Beyond that, in an uncharacteristically concise way, he re-emphasised some important points.
First, he said he wholly rejected the terrorism of Hamas.
“We reject the actions of Hamas on October 7,” he said.
“They do not represent actions of Palestinian people or their struggle for independence.”
On the future, he said that the PNA will “bear full responsibility” for governance. “Hamas will not,” he said, calling for them to hand over their arms. “We do not want an armed state,” he said.
He rejected antisemitism and sought to differentiate accusations of antisemitism with the legitimate drive for a Palestinian state living alongside Israel.
Yet he warned that Israel was undermining prospects for a two-state solution with its continued settlement activities in the West Bank.
In the noise and the chaos of the Gaza war – which now been raging for 720 days – the voice of Palestinians who are not Hamas-aligned have been hard to hear.
This speech was Abbas’s moment to be heard.
“Peace cannot be achieved if justice is not achieved and there can be no justice if Palestine is not free,” he said.
“The dawn of freedom will emerge and the flag of Palestine will fly high in our skies.”
Mr Abbas also reiterated a series of points to the UN, which included the need for an “immediate and permanent end” to the war in Gaza and the need for unconditional entry of humanitarian aid to UN organisations.
Read more from Sky News:
Former French president sentenced to five years in prison
‘Professional actor’ using airport drones ‘to spread fear’
The Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas killed 1,200 people and Israeli figures suggest around 251 were taken hostage.
According to local health authorities, more than 65,000 people – mostly civilians – have been killed in the war in Gaza. Its figure does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel has rejected claims that it is carrying out a genocide in Gaza, arguing it is defending itself and fighting against Hamas, not the Palestinian population.
Follow our channel and never miss an update
Attention turns to Netanyahu
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak at the UN General Assembly in New York after a week that has seen widespread condemnation of the situation in Gaza and calls for peace.
Mr Netanyahu will then meet Mr Trump at the White House on Monday.
Speaking on Thursday while hosting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mr Trump said he believes “we’re close to getting some kind of deal done”.
He also reiterated his call to “get the hostages back”, adding that there are around 20 living hostages and “38 or so dead hostages” in Gaza.
