Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged at the United Nations yesterday to work with US President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France and the UN on a peace plan for Gaza overwhelmingly backed by the world body.
The 193-member UN General Assembly earlier this month endorsed a seven-page declaration that aims to advance a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
The declaration emerged from an international conference at the UN in July – hosted by Saudi Arabia and France – on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event and have rejected the international efforts.
Separately, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday that Trump had presented a 21-point peace plan for the Middle East and Gaza during a meeting with leaders of several Muslim-majority countries on the sidelines of this week’s UN General Assembly.
Abbas addressed the annual gathering of world leaders via video after the United States said it would not give him a visa to travel to New York.
“Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7 – acts that targeted Israeli civilians and took them as hostages – because such actions do not represent the Palestinian people nor their just struggle for freedom and independence,” Abbas said.
“We have affirmed – and will continue to affirm – that Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and that we are ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security there. Hamas will have no role in governance, and it – along with other factions – must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian National Authority,” he said. “We reiterate that we do not want an armed state.”
“We declare our readiness to work with President Donald Trump, with Saudi Arabia, France, the United Nations, and all partners to implement the peace plan” backed by the General Assembly, Abbas said.
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