Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, addressed world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, stressing that the Palestinian people will not leave their homeland – the land of their ancestors.
“Palestine will remain ours. And if anyone were to leave, it will be the occupying usurpers,” he declared.
He began by highlighting that Palestinians have endured nearly a year of what he described as one of the most heinous crimes of our time.
“It is the crime of a full-scale war of genocide that Israel is perpetrating. A crime that has killed more than 40,000 martyrs in Gaza alone, and thousands remain under the rubble. A crime that has injured more than 100,000 injured to this day.”
He pointed out that whole Palestinian families have been annihilated, their family names completely erased. He also stressed that amid the onslaught, diseases are spreading, clean water and vital medicines are in scarce supply, and over two million Palestinians have been displaced, many forced to flee multiple times in search of safety.
The deaths and injuries continue unabated, not only in Gaza but in the West Bank and in Jerusalem.
President Abbas underscored that he was not speaking today “to respond to the lies” of the Israeli Prime Minister, who claimed before the US Congress in July that Israeli forces did not kill innocent civilians in Gaza.
“I ask you, who is it then that killed more than 15,000 children of the 40,000 and an equal number of women and elderly persons. And who is it then that is continuing to kill them, I ask you?”
Further in his address, President Abbas outlined a 12-point “day-after” proposal, for when the war in Gaza has ended.
It called for, among other points, a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to military and settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Strip—without buffer zones or annexations of any kind.
He emphasized the need for regular, sufficient humanitarian aid in Gaza, an end to forced displacement throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, and stronger protection and support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and other humanitarian organizations to ensure they can continue delivering services to Palestinians.
He also called for international protection for Palestinians in the occupied territories, stating, “we cannot fight Israel, and we don’t want to fight, we want protection,” he said, adding that the State of Palestine must assume responsibility in Gaza and exercise jurisdiction over the region, including control of border checkpoints.
“This is our proposal to you, you can accept it, amend it or change it, we are ready for all that.”
Concluding his address, Abbas said that “while we recognize the State of Israel, Israel does not recognize us”.
“We want a solution that will protect both countries – the State of Palestine and the State of Israel – so they can co-exist in peace, stability and security.”
