United Nations (EFE).- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the United Nations General Assembly by videoconference on Thursday.
He called for his government to administer Gaza after Israel’s military offensive ended and insisted that Hamas be excluded from any future governance of the enclave.
“We are ready to take full responsibility for governing Gaza and ensuring its security. Hamas will have no role to play in governance,” Abbas said.
In his remarks, Abbas endorsed the New York Declaration, adopted by the General Assembly during the recent international conference on a two-state solution.
The proposal calls for Hamas’ disarmament and its exclusion from Gaza’s administration in favor of the PA.
“They will have to lay down their arms and hand them over to the Palestinian Authority,” Abbas said, describing the process as part of establishing a unified state with its own legal system and security forces.
The renewed UN conference on a peaceful solution to the Palestinian question resumed this week, following its commencement in late July. Participants reiterated support for the two-state framework outlined in the declaration.
Hamas pushes armed resistance
Following the conference, Hamas welcomed international recognition of a Palestinian state and called to end Israel’s offensive but insisted on its “right to armed resistance.”
“The right to armed resistance is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people, recognized by international laws and conventions, and we will exercise it until the occupation ends and an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital,” the group said in a statement Monday.
Hamas did not comment on its possible exclusion from a postwar Gaza administration.
The group has previously suggested governance by independent technocrats in coordination with Fatah, the secular party led by Abbas.
Israel, however, has opposed both factions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated last month that “neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” should control Gaza.
Abbas condemns war and urges action
Abbas used his UN platform to distance the PA from Hamas, condemning the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and stressing that a future Palestinian state “will not be a state that carries arms.”
“We reject equating our struggle with antisemitism, which is contrary to our values and principles,” he added.
The Palestinian leader denounced the Israeli campaign in Gaza as “a war of genocide, destruction, starvation, and displacement,” and demanded it end immediately.
He urged Israel to allow humanitarian access “without delay” and stop using hunger as a weapon of war. Also, calling for the release of 48 hostages held by Hamas and other groups in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and pressing for Israel’s full withdrawal from the strip.
“More than a thousand resolutions have been passed at the United Nations, and none of them has been implemented,” Abbas told delegates.
UN rights investigators, independent experts, and a growing number of governments have described the offensive as genocide, with Palestinian casualties exceeding 65,500, according to local authorities.
“We will not leave our land”
Abbas closed his speech with a vow of resilience, “We will not leave our land. Our people will remain rooted like trees or rocks. We will rise from beneath the rubble to rebuild.”
His address came as Israel’s ground operation in Gaza City forced nearly one million displaced people further south.
Abbas appeared remotely after the United States revoked visas for PA diplomats.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the UN General Assembly in New York before meeting United States President Donald Trump. EFE
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