Overview
- Mahmoud Abbas urged states to recognize the State of Palestine and to support Palestine’s bid for full United Nations membership.
- He condemned the October 7 Hamas attacks as not representative of Palestinians and said Hamas must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority and hold no role in governance.
- Abbas said the Palestinian Authority is prepared to govern Gaza and outlined a postwar vision that excludes Hamas.
- He alleged Israeli forces have killed or wounded more than 220,000 Palestinians and committed crimes against humanity, characterizing the Gaza war as genocidal.
- He warned that settlement expansion in the West Bank, including Israel’s E1 plan, would split the territory and endanger a two-state solution.