Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the international community to end the bloodshed in the West Bank and Gaza. In a speech to the UN General Assembly session on Thursday, he called for immediate measures to end the Gaza war. Apart from this, very important issues such as the West Bank, Palestine's membership in the United Nations, illegal Israeli settlements and the Lebanon issue came up in his words.
Mahmoud Abbas said about the war in Gaza, Palestine is our motherland. This is our ancestral land. It will be ours. Israel has completely reoccupied the Gaza Strip. It was almost completely destroyed. So Gaza is no longer habitable. We will not allow an inch of Gaza to be taken. News - Reuters.
In his address to the United Nations, he also said, stop this crime, stop now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending arms to Israel. This madness cannot continue. The whole world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.
Mahmoud Abbas said the State of Palestine must shoulder its responsibility in the Gaza Strip and impose its full mandate and jurisdiction over the border checkpoints, especially the Rafah International Border.
On UN membership, the Palestinian president said, the United States, the only member of the Security Council, voted against granting full membership to the State of Palestine. In the eyes of America we are not eligible for membership. What do we lack, to sit with you? We have land. We have authority. We have people. We have culture. We have knowledge. We have everything we need. We ask for your help.
He said Washington continues to provide diplomatic cover and arms to Israel in the Gaza war. The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 41,534 due to continued Israeli attacks, according to the Gaza's Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.
In addition, Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli aggression in Lebanon. He said that the people of Lebanon are being subjected to genocide. We condemn this aggression and demand its immediate cessation.
It should be noted that despite the UN Security Council's repeated calls for a ceasefire, Israel has been carrying out brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7. Thousands of buildings including hospitals, schools, refugee camps, mosques, churches have been damaged or destroyed in this Israeli attack. According to the United Nations, about 85 percent of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced by Israel's brutal offensive. And with acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, all of Gaza is now food insecure.