‘Very life and existence’ of Palestinians under threat from Israeli policies: Palestine President Abbas at UN
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Very life and existence’ of Palestinians under threat from Israeli policies: Palestine President Abbas at UN")
Palestinian president Mahmud Abba speaks by a pre recorded video message to the 81st United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York on September 24 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas told the UN that Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank threaten the “very life and existence” of Palestinians, while calling for faster implementation of the Gaza peace plan and full UN membership for Palestine.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday that Israeli policies had gone beyond threatening a two-state solution and were now putting the existence of the Palestinian people at risk.
"The danger is no longer limited to undermining the two-state solution and preventing the realisation of the Palestinian state. It has now come to threaten the very life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland," Abbas said.
Addressing the UNGA through a pre-recorded video message, Abbas said people in Gaza were subject to a "genocidal war". He also said Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank "threaten the life and existence of Palestinian people on their own land".
Abbas called for the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza peace plan to be accelerated. He also warned against Israeli plans to divide the West Bank into northern and southern zones.
The Palestinian leader called on US President Donald Trump to "fulfil commitments" he made to Arab leaders to prevent the annexation of Palestinian lands.
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Abbas rejects US visa decision
Abbas also criticised Washington's decision to deny him a visa to attend the UN General Assembly in person.
"For the second consecutive year, the Palestinian delegation was denied the entry visas required to reach New York and participate in the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly in person. We reject these unlawful punitive measures, and we reject the accusations and justifications on which they were based.”
The US State Department said the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation had “failed to live up to their commitments”. It accused the groups of “taking actions to internationalise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including through the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice” and of “glorifying terrorism” among other allegations.
Abbas rejected those accusations and said the Palestinian side had met its obligations.
“We affirm that we have fulfilled our obligations, carried out a comprehensive national reform programme, and upheld our commitment to international law, to shunning violence and terrorism, and to the two-state solution and to peace based on resolutions of international legitimacy.”
Abbas also thanked the "160 countries that have recognised the state of Palestine". He urged countries that have not yet recognised Palestine to do so and called for Palestine to receive full membership of the United Nations.
