Abbas Renews Two-State Push at UN as 157 of 193 Members Recognize Palestine
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 24
Abbas Renews Two-State Push at UN as 157 of 193 Members Recognize Palestine
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 24
Summary
Mahmoud Abbas used a videotaped U.N. General Assembly address to renew his call for an independent Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel, while accusing Israel of waging a “genocidal war” in Gaza.
The 90-year-old Palestinian Authority president again spoke remotely after the Trump administration denied him a visa to enter New York; U.N. members voted last week to let him submit a video for a second straight year.
Abbas said the war had created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and also condemned Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank, where settlement expansion has long been criticized as undermining statehood.
Palestinian statehood already has broad backing at the U.N., with 157 of 193 member states recognizing Palestine, including France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal, which did so in 2025.