Abbas: Israel's policies threaten the existence of the Palestinian people

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned today Washington’s “punitive” decision to deny him a visa to enter the United States to attend United Nations meetings. In a pre-recorded video address delivered before the General Assembly, he stated that Israeli policies now threaten the “life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland,” not merely the two-state solution and the prevention of a Palestinian state.

He explained that “what is happening in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is not a series of isolated incidents, but a sinister colonial plan aimed at forcing Palestinians into forced displacement from their homeland.”

Addressing world leaders, Abbas said: “Do not allow another Nakba and massacres like those that occurred in 1948. Do not allow protected terrorist gangs, backed by occupation forces, to burn Palestinian homes while people are sleeping inside them. Do not allow our children to live under fear and threat.”

Abbas called for “accelerating the implementation of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan and not wasting any more time,” emphasizing that the transitional phase must not become a permanent or open-ended situation without a clear timeline and political horizon. Instead, it must lead to the reunification of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under the authority of the State of Palestine and its legitimate institutions, in accordance with the principle of: one state, one government, one law, and one legitimate weapon.