Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said the Palestinian Authority should govern Gaza once the Israeli war ends.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the United States for its continued support of Israel’s war on Gaza and urged the international community to stop supplying weapons to Israel.
“This madness cannot continue. The whole world is responsible for what is happening to our people,” he told the 193-member General Assembly on Thursday, in his first speech to the House since Israel launched the assault last October in response to an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.
Abbas pointed the finger at Washington, saying it continues to provide diplomatic cover and weapons to Israel despite the rising death toll in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed at least 41,534 people since October, according to the Ministry of Defense. Gaza Health.
At least 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, according to an Tel Aviv Tribune tally based on Israeli statistics, and around 250 others were captured.
Abbas accused the United States of allowing the Israeli attack to continue by repeatedly vetoing U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We regret that the United States, the world’s largest democracy, has three times blocked draft Security Council resolutions demanding that Israel respect a ceasefire,” Abbas said. “The United States, alone, said, ‘No, the fighting will continue,'” he said.
Washington is a key ally of Israel and provides it with billions of dollars in military aid each year.
The United States, alongside Qatar and Egypt, also worked unsuccessfully to negotiate a ceasefire to end the war and secure the release of dozens of hostages held by groups Palestinians in Gaza.
Gaza proposal
Abbas also presented a 12-point proposal for Gaza after the war ends. He called for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, without the creation of buffer zones or seizure of any part of Gaza. He said the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, should govern Gaza after the war as part of a Palestinian state, a vision Israel rejects.
“We are not asking for more, but we will not accept less,” Abbas said.
Abbas called for an international peace conference under UN auspices within a year and reiterated his calls for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“He made strong points, he criticized the United States directly, he certainly attacked Israel directly, he presented a vision for the future,” said Marwan Bishara, Tel Aviv Tribune’s senior political analyst.
However, Bishara said Abbas had been “missing” for the past year. He said Israeli leaders “will not find a more moderate leader than Abbas, who accepts all their conditions.” If they cannot make peace with him, they will not be able to make peace with any of his successors.”
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, responded to Abbas’ speech a few minutes later with a critical assessment. “Abbas spoke for 26 minutes and did not say the word ‘Hamas’ once,” he said.
“It is only when he speaks on the platform of the UN that he speaks of a peaceful solution,” Danon said.