Abbas urges UN to prevent “another Nakba” and back Palestine’s membership
Speaking by prerecorded video after the US denied him a visa, the Palestinian president called for recognition of Palestine and an end to the occupation.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the UN General Assembly on Thursday to “not allow another Nakba”, delivering a prerecorded address from his office in Ramallah after the United States denied him a visa for the second year in a row, according to France 24.
Abbas called on countries that have not recognised Palestine to do so and urged support for its full membership of the United Nations. He said Palestinians seek a democratic state living peacefully alongside Israel.
He called for a process to end the Israeli occupation, saying lasting security could not be built on occupation and the denial of basic rights. Abbas also said Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank threatened Palestinians’ lives and continued presence on their land.
Abbas warned that Israeli plans to divide the West Bank into northern and southern zones posed a danger. He called on US President Donald Trump to fulfil commitments to Arab leaders to prevent the annexation of Palestinian land. The claims about the plans and commitments were made by Abbas in his address.
He described Washington’s visa denial as “unlawful punitive measures” and rejected the accusations and justifications behind it. The source did not include the US government’s account of the decision.
