Palestinian Authority Leader Addresses U.N. Assembly Remotely
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a virtual address to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday from his party’s headquarters in Ramallah, Israeli-occupied West Bank. He was denied a visa to attend the gathering in New York in person. From his office, flanked by two large Palestinian flags and a sign reading ‘State of Palestine,’ Mr. Abbas denounced Israel’s actions in Gaza as ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity,’ criticizing Israeli leaders’ calls for territorial expansion. He reiterated the sentiment, ‘Palestine is ours. We will not leave our land. We will not leave our homeland. Our people are rooted like the olive trees,’ receiving sustained applause.
Speaking to a largely sympathetic audience, Mr. Abbas asserted that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the state of Palestine. He also stated his party’s readiness to assume full control of Gaza, demanding that Hamas surrender its weapons to the Palestinian Authority. ‘We reiterate that we do not want an armed state,’ he emphasized. His address took place days after 10 Western nations—including France, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Belgium—joined approximately 150 other countries in formally recognizing Palestinian statehood, a significant step forward for a cause Mr. Abbas has dedicated his political life to.
This week’s U.N. General Assembly has been largely dominated by the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. Many world leaders at a Monday conference, co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, echoed Mr. Abbas’s condemnation of Israel’s military campaign, citing 65,000 casualties and over a million displaced persons, with some describing the situation as genocide. Mr. Abbas himself used the term ‘genocide’ to describe Israel’s response to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, while also condemning the attack, stating, ‘These actions don’t represent the Palestinian people.’
Meanwhile, Israel and the United States opposed the recognition of Palestinian statehood, labeling it as a ‘gift to Hamas’ and dismissing it as political theater with minimal impact on the situation in Gaza. President Trump, however, privately assured leaders of Arab and Muslim-majority nations this week that he would not permit Israel to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank, despite recent suggestions by Israeli officials that such annexation could be a retaliation for the statehood announcements.
Israel Launches Airstrikes on Houthis During U.N. Session
Concurrently with Abbas’s address, Israel’s military announced a series of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. These strikes followed a Houthi drone attack that injured more than a dozen individuals in the Israeli resort town of Eilat, part of the Houthis’ ongoing campaign in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The U.S.-U.N. Visa Standoff: A Historical Overview
The denial of a U.S. visa to Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation highlights a long-standing point of contention between the United States and the United Nations. Under the 1947 Headquarters Agreement, the U.S. is generally obligated to allow unimpeded access to U.N. headquarters for representatives of member states and invited individuals. However, separate U.S. legislation allows the nation to safeguard its national security interests, which the State Department cited as the reason for denying Mr. Abbas’s visa.
U.N. officials and legal experts argue that the U.S. is violating the agreement, asserting that there is no loophole for such denials. Stéphane Dujarric, a U.N. spokesman, expressed concern about the decision’s possible consequences. Historically, the U.S. has rarely denied entry to heads of government attending the General Assembly, with a notable exception being Palestinian Authority leader Yasir Arafat in 1988, though he attended in subsequent years. Visa restrictions and delays, often due to intelligence or security concerns, are more common for delegations from countries like Russia, Iran, China, and Venezuela, but outright rejections for heads of government remain extremely rare and highly controversial.