‘Palestinians will not leave,’ their president tells world leaders at UN in defiant, virtual speech

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Speaking over video after the United States denied his visa, the Palestinian leader told world leaders 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 war ends and must hand over its weapons to his administration. Said Mahmoud Abbas to his people: “The dawn of freedom will emerge.”

Abbas told the U.N. 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 lay 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 U.S. allies — announced recognition of a Palestinian state this past week.

But it also appears further than ever from realities on the ground. Netanyahu’s government has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state.

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 in there. Some ministers in Netanyahu’s government have pushed for annexing the occupied West Bank, where Abbas’ authority currently administers small pockets of territory.

“There can be no justice if Palestine is not freed,” Abbas said.

The 89-year-old Abbas spoke for only 20 minutes – shorter than his previous addresses, which often ran over an hour. In it, he sought to build on the growing, but largely symbolic recognition of statehood to present his government as an alternative to Hamas – and to Israel’s plans.

He said the Palestinian Authority is “ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security” in Gaza. He added that “Hamas will have no role to play in governance,” and will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian authorities.

Hamas has agreed to step down from power in Gaza but has rejected Israeli demands that it disarm, saying it has a right to resist Israeli occupation.

Hamas and Abbas’ Fatah faction, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, have long been rivals. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 in clashes with Fatah, and since then multiple attempts at reconciliation and unity have failed. Meanwhile, Abbas’ Palestinian Authority has grown increasingly unpopular among Palestinians, many of whom see it as ineffective, corrupt and a tool of Israel – even as Israel works to diminish its role.

Abbas said Israel’s campaign in Gaza “is not merely an aggression, it is a war crime and a crime against humanity.”

An increasing number of experts around the world have accused Israel of genocide in its Gaza assault. Israel denies the accusation, blaming Hamas for the death and destruction in the territory.

Abbas thanked the world leaders who have stood up for Palestinians throughout the Gaza war, saying that the recent recognition of Palestinian statehood has presented his people with hope for peace and an end to the conflict. He welcomed the recent announcements from France, the U.K. and Canada to recognize them as an independent state and called for the remains few dozen countries to do the same.

But, he added, symbolic recognition is not enough to address the present moment.

“The time has come for the international community to do right by the Palestinian people, so that they may obtain their rights for their legitimate rights to be rid of the occupation and to not remain a hostage to the temperament of Israeli politics, which denies our rights and continue in their injustice, oppression and aggression,” Abbas said.

Before concluding, he sent a message of hope to the Palestinian people, saying that no matter how long the suffering continues, “its results will not break our will to live and survive.”

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people and wounded more than 167,000 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It doesn’t say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the fatalities. More than 90% of housing in the territory has been destroyed, most of the population of more than 2 million have been displaced, and famine has been declared in northern Gaza.

Israel’s campaign was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Forty-eight captives remain in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.

“The dawn of freedom will emerge, and the flag of Palestine will fly high in our skies as a symbol of dignity, steadfastness and being free from the occupation,” Abbas said. “We will not leave our homeland. We will not leave our lands.”

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Keath reported from Cairo.