Abbas tells UN Gaza faces genocide, warns of greater danger ahead

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the measures that prevented the Palestinian delegation from attending the United Nations General Assembly in person, saying the ban contradicts US obligations as the host country. Abbas made his remarks in a video address to the General Assembly.

In his speech, Abbas said the Palestinian people in Gaza are facing killing, destruction, starvation, and attempts at displacement, describing the situation as a "genocidal war." He added that, according to him, settlement expansion and "settler terrorism" are accelerating in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Abbas described Israeli actions as "state terrorism based on racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing," warning that their continuation destroys the two-state solution and pointing to a "greater danger ahead" that requires international intervention to stop it.

He called for preventing "another Nakba or massacre" against the Palestinian people, demanded an end to settler violence, and urged Washington to work with the Palestinian Authority and the international community to implement a two-state solution based on international legitimacy.

Abbas said the two-state solution "guarantees peace for all instead of colonial extremism, the creation of Greater Israel, and erasing our existence." He noted that the Palestinian Authority welcomed former US President Donald Trump's peace plan, but added: "Unfortunately, we have not seen anything materialize on the ground."