Addressing the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday, September 21, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas underlined that there can be no hope for peace in the region until Palestinians get their legitimate right to national self-determination.
“Those who think that peace can prevail in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying their full and legitimate national rights would be mistaken,” he said.
Abbas also noted that Israel’s extremist government, instead of repenting for its crimes inside the occupied territories, has been bragging about its “apartheid policies on Palestinian people.” He claimed that the world had failed to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and deliberate violations of numerous UN resolutions.
He appealed to countries who have not yet recognized the state of Palestine to do so. He also questioned them, particularly those in the West, for their reluctance to recognize the state of Palestine despite it being admitted to the UN as an observer state. He also demanded full UN membership for Palestine.
Abbas called for organizing an international peace conference on Palestine where Israeli attempts against a two-state solution and persistent violations of the UN resolutions must be discussed. He declared that the double standards with respect to Israel must end.
There has been no peace process in Palestine since 2014. Meanwhile, Israel has refused to adhere to UN resolutions and even violated the 1993 Oslo agreements by expanding the illegal settlements inside the occupied territories.
Palestine’s demand for full UN membership was supported by various other countries during the summit, including by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. China also supported the just and lawful demand for an independent Palestinian state and renewed its commitment to a two-state solution.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati questioned Israel’s impunity and asked the UN to establish accountability with respect to Israel’s occupation of both the Palestinian territories and southern Lebanon.
Mikati and several other leaders appealed to the global community to renew their support to Palestinian refugees as the UN refugee agency in Palestine (UNRWA) has been struggling to get enough funds to run its operations for the millions of Palestinian refugees living across the occupied territories and in the Arab world.
