#Palestinian President #Abbas addresses the #UN via video after the #Trump admin refused to give him a #visa to travel to #NY for #UNGA
A State Dept ofcl said that Abbas & ~80 other #Palestinians would be affected by the decision to deny & revoke #visas from members of the #PLO & the #WestBank based #PA. Abbas' office said at the time it was astonished by the decision.
Under a 1947 #UN “headquarters agreement", the #US is generally REQUIRED to allow access for foreign #diplomats to the UN.
However, the #US has said it can deny #visas for security, extremism & foreign policy reasons.
The #State Dept justified its decision by reiterating US & #Israel allegations that the #PA & #PLO had failed to repudiate extremism [pretty rich coming from #Netanyahu & #Trump] while pushing for "unilateral recognition" of a #PalestinianState.
Palestinian ofcls reject such allegations & say decades of US mediated talks have failed to end Israeli occupation & secure an independent state of Palestine
#Palestinian President #Abbas has begun his speech.
Abbas calls #Israel's actions a #WarCrime
"What Israel is carrying out is not merely an aggression, it is a war crime & a #CrimeAgainstHumanity that is both documented & monitored, & it will be recorded in history books & the pages of international conscious as one of the most horrific chapters of #humanitarian tragedy in the 20th & 21st centuries," Abbas said, according to a translation provided by the #UN.
“Despite all what our people have suffered, we reject what #Hamas carried out on the 7th of October,” #Abbas said.
"Hamas will not have a role to play in governance. Hamas & other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the #PalestinianNationalAuthority."
'Our people will not forget', Abbas thanks countries for recognizing #PalestinianState.
"We urge all the states that have not done so yet to recognize the State of #Palestine. We call on supporting Palestine [in] obtaining a full membership in the #UnitedNations," #Abbas said.
"We would like to thank France, the UK, Canada, Australia, Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra & Denmark for their recognition of the State of Palestine. We would like to thank all 149 states which had previously recognized the State of Palestine.“
“Our people will not forget this noble position,” #Abbas said.
"We highly appreciate all the peoples & organizations around the world who #protested in support of the #rights of the #Palestinian people to #freedom & #independence, & to stop the #war, destruction & #starvation.”
“We reject confusing the solidarity with the #Palestinian cause & the issue of #antiSemitism, which is something that we reject based on our values & principles."
#Abbas stressed the need for an immediate & permanent end to the war.
He called for:
"The entry w/o conditions of #HumanitarianAid through #UnitedNations organizations, including the #UNRWA & to stop using #starvation as a weapon."
"The release of all hostages & prisoners on both sides"
"The complete withdrawal of the occupation from the #Gaza Strip."
"To guarantee that the residents of the Gaza Strip remain on their lands w/o #displacement, & to implement a recovery & #reconstruction plan"
#Abbas also called for “Supporting our national efforts towards #reform & conducting presidential & parliamentary #elections within a year after the end of the war."
"We declare that we are ready to work w/ #US President Donald #Trump & w/the Kingdom of #SaudiArabia & #France & the #UnitedNations & all partners to implement the #peace plan that was approved in the conference held on the 22nd of September, in a way that would lead towards a just peace & regional cooperation," Abbas said.
#US special envoy #SteveWitkoff said on Wednesday #Trump had presented proposals for a #MiddleEast #peace plan to leaders from several Muslim-majority countries at this week's #UN meetings & is hopeful for a breakthrough on #Gaza in the coming days.
Trump has previously made clear he opposes a #PalestinianState.
Just last week, he said he disagreed with British Prime Minister Keir #Starmer over recognizing a #Palestinian state.
After #Britain announced its plans to recognize a #PalestinianState in late July, #Trump said doing so would reward #Hamas.
"You're rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don't think they should be rewarded," he said.
On Monday, the White House repeated that Trump believes recognizing a #Palestinian state rewards Hamas.
Nonilex
Corb_The_Lesser