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Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas is scheduled to speak to the United Nations virtually on Thursday as the United States, despite its opposition to him, considers whether to attempt to prevent the annexation of the West Bank by Israel.
The long-serving 89-year-old president of the Palestinian Authority will deliver his address to the UN General Assembly(UNGA) just three days after France hosted a summit where numerous Western countries recognised a Palestinian state.
The administration of US President Donald Trump firmly opposed statehood and, in an unusual move, prohibited Abbas and his top aides from travelling to New York for the yearly meeting of global leaders.
The General Assembly voted largely in favour of allowing Abbas to present a video message to the international assembly.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has committed to preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, and far-right members of his cabinet have threatened to annex the West Bank to undermine any hope for genuine independence.
French President Emmanuel Macron, while differing with Trump on the issue of statehood, stated on Wednesday that the US leader agreed with him in opposing the annexation.
Abbas’s Palestinian Authority has limited governance over parts of the West Bank based on agreements made during the Oslo peace accords that began in 1993. His Fatah party opposes Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip, though Netanyahu’s administration has attempted to blur the lines between the two.
In his address on Monday, Abbas denounced the extensive attacks launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, which prompted a fierce military response from Israel. He urged Hamas to disarm and transfer authority to the Palestinian Authority.
France and other European nations, while not aligning with Israeli and US efforts to delegitimise the Palestinian Authority, have expressed that it requires significant reforms.
Netanyahu is set to address the UN General Assembly on Friday.
