US denies Abbas visa, Palestinian leader warns of existential threat in UN address

For the second consecutive year, the United States denied visas to the Palestinian delegation, preventing them from traveling to New York for the UN General Assembly. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the assembly by video instead. "Denying the Palestinian delegation access to the United Nations headquarters constitutes a violation of the United States' obligation as host country," Abbas said. He called on the US administration to lift these restrictions and return to dialogue and mutual respect. Abbas warned that the Palestinian people face "one of the most dangerous moments in their history." He described a situation of displacement, deprivation of basic rights, and what he called a "genocidal war" that has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. He said Israel has destroyed neighborhoods, cities, schools, universities, hospitals, homes, mosques, and churches. "There is an even greater danger that requires international measures to stop it," Abbas warned. He said this danger threatens "the life and existence of the Palestinian people in their lands." He described events in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem as "an evil colonial plan" designed to make life impossible for Palestinians. Abbas appealed to the international community: "Do not allow a new Nakba. Do not allow more massacres like 1948." He asked how long some states would remain silent about Israel's actions while providing weapons used against Palestinian civilians. "We want security and peace for all," Abbas said. "We reject attacks against civilians by anyone. We reject terrorism and extremism in all its forms." He called for a democratic Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel. Abbas insisted that saving the two-state solution "begins with preserving the land" where a Palestinian state would be established. "The Palestinian people will remain in their lands," he said. "The Palestinian people will not accept displacement and will not disappear."