Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will deliver a video address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, as debate intensifies over Israel’s threats to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.
The 89-year-old leader’s virtual speech comes days after France led a summit at which several Western nations formally recognised a Palestinian state, a move Israel has dismissed outright. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated this week that “there will be no Palestinian state”, while far-right members of his cabinet have pushed for annexation to extinguish prospects of independence.
The U.S., while barring Abbas and his aides from travelling to New York, allowed him to speak remotely after the General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the arrangement by 145 votes to five. President Donald Trump’s administration has opposed Palestinian statehood but is weighing how to address Israeli annexation moves that risk inflaming regional tensions.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in a joint interview this week, said both Europe and the United States share a firm opposition to unilateral annexation. “What President Trump told me yesterday was that the Europeans and Americans have the same position,” he noted.
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Abbas is expected to use his address to renew calls for full international recognition of Palestine and to warn against measures that could undermine the two-state solution.
The address comes at a pivotal moment, with Israel’s military campaign in Gaza ongoing and regional diplomacy intensifying. Observers say Abbas’s message could shape the next phase of international engagement with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.