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Intervention of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the 81st General Debate of the UNGA. teleSUR
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00:05In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful, Excellency Dr. Khalil
00:10Ar-Rahman, President of the General Assembly, Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary
00:17General of the United Nations, Excellencies, Heads and Members of Delegations, for the
00:26second consecutive year, the Palestinian delegation was denied the entry visas required to reach
00:36New York and participate in the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly in person.
00:45We reject these unlawful punitive measures, and we reject the accusations and justifications
00:54on which they were based.
00:57We affirm that we have fulfilled our obligations, carried out a comprehensive national reform
01:05program, and upheld our commitment to international law, to shunning violence and terrorism, and
01:15to the two-state solution, and to peace on the basis of resolutions of international legitimacy.
01:24We also affirm that the Palestinian people and its leadership should not be punished for
01:33demanding an end for the occupation, or for turning to the UN, the International Court of
01:41Justice, and the International Criminal Court.
01:47Our choice to invoke international law and its institutions is a peaceful and civilized choice,
01:53and not an act that runs counter to peace.
01:59Denying the Palestinian delegation access to the UN headquarters is a violation of the United
02:08United States' obligations as the host country.
02:14Therefore, we call upon the American Administration to lift these sanctions and restrictions, return
02:24to dialogue and mutual respect, and work with us and with the international community in order
02:32to implement the two-state solution on the basis of international legitimacy, and to establish peace,
02:40rather than punishing the side that has chosen the path of international law and political
02:46and diplomatic action in order to guarantee its rights.
02:57Mr. President, esteemed Member States, I speak to you today as the Palestinian people faces one
03:06of the most dangerous times of its history.
03:10This is following long decades of historic injustice, uprooting, asylum seeking, occupation, and the
03:19deprivation of its basic right to self-determination, freedom, and independence.
03:26In the Gaza Strip, our people are being subjected at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces to killing, destruction,
03:35destruction, starvation, and attempts at displacement, as well as a genocidal war that has created
03:42an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
03:47It has destroyed neighborhoods, cities, camps, institutions, schools, universities, hospitals,
03:59mosques, and churches.
04:03And it has targeted all the basic necessities of life and the future of entire generations.
04:11In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, settler expansion is accelerating.
04:19The West Bank is being fragmented and Jerusalem is being isolated and Judaized.
04:26Settler terrorism is escalating under the protection of the occupying forces, while the crimes of land
04:32theft, home demolition, checkpoints, and raids continue under a system of laws, measures, and practices,
04:45all built on racial discrimination, ethnic cleansing, and state terrorism.
04:52Ladies and gentlemen, we have long warned the international community through the United Nations General Assembly
05:01and through the Security Council that these Israeli policies in violation of international law would destroy the two-state solution,
05:11and that this is what is happening now.
05:18Today, we warn of an even greater danger ahead, one that requires international action to address it.
05:27The danger is no longer limited to undermining the two-state solution and preventing the realization of the Palestinian state.
05:34It has now come to threaten the very life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland.
05:44What is taking place in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem are not isolated incidents, but rather a malicious
05:52colonial scheme aimed
05:54at making the lives of Palestinians more difficult in their homeland and forcing them to leave it.
06:06We warn you today, do not allow another Nakba to occur.
06:13Do not allow further massacres like those that occurred in 1948.
06:20Do not allow terrorist gangs protected by the Israeli occupation forces to burn Palestinian homes while their occupants are sleeping
06:31inside them.
06:33Do not allow our children to live afraid and threatened.
06:40Once again, I ask before this assembly.
06:45How much longer will some states continue to remain silent on Israel or supply it with the weapons that it
06:52uses against our people?
06:57The world has witnessed the tremendous cost in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
07:03So what is the international community waiting for in order to protect the Palestinian people, ensure their continued presence on
07:11their land,
07:12and the Israeli occupation and implement the two state solution on the basis of international legitimacy?
07:22The solution guarantees peace for all instead of the threat emanating from Israeli extremism.
07:29The system, which seeks to expand its colonial project towards establishing the so-called greater Israel and completely erasing Palestinian
07:43presence.
07:46Mr. President, esteemed member states, we welcomed President Donald Trump's 20 point plan.
07:57We also welcomed Security Council resolution 2803 and the roadmap for implementing the second phase.
08:06This was to hold the aggression against our people and their humanitarian suffering and secure the withdrawal of the occupation
08:15forces from the Gaza Strip and begin rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
08:21However, regretfully, we have not seen any of this materialize on the ground.
08:30The Israeli killing and aggression continue to claim the lives of men, women and children in Gaza.
08:40Nearly a year has passed since the adoption of Resolution 2803 and the establishment of the Board of Peace.
08:51And only one year remains of the designated transitional period before the end of 2027.
09:01Therefore, we call for accelerating the implementation of the second phase rather than wasting any more time.
09:08The transitional period must not be allowed to become a permanent or open-ended situation without any clear time-bound
09:18political horizon.
09:20Rather, it must lead to the reunification of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, under the
09:28authority of the State of Palestine and its legitimate institutions in accordance with the principle of one state, one government,
09:39one law and one legitimate entity authorized to bear arms.
09:47Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed member states, the threats and attacks carried out by extremists against Islamic and Christian holy sites,
10:01particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Ibrahimian Mosque in Hebron, constitute
10:10a violation of their historic and legal status and of freedom of worship.
10:16They must cease immediately before they devolve into a broader religious conflict in the region and beyond.
10:28No one is in need of such an outcome.
10:33The ongoing Israeli attacks on United Nations headquarters and institutions in Jerusalem and the West Bank also undermine Onrua's ability
10:45to continue carrying out its duties in providing support and assistance to Palestinian refugees, especially in the fields of education,
10:59health care and vocational training.
11:03We call upon all states and international and regional organizations to continue supporting the work of Onrua for which there
11:13is no substitute so long as the refugee issue remains unresolved.
11:20This requires the continued financial support and political backing as well as an end to these attacks against Onrua.
11:36We particularly warn also against the implementation of the EU one settlement plan.
11:44This plan aims to separate the Northern West Bank from its south, isolate East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings and
11:54prevent the realization of a geographically continuous Palestinian state.
12:01This requires urgent and responsible intervention by the United Nations Security Council.
12:07It also requires the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2334.
12:17This resolution calls for the cessation of all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
12:33We highly appreciate the measures taken by the United Kingdom, as well as 12 other countries in order to protect
12:43the two state solution, as well as to ban settlement products.
12:52We also commend the call launched by the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada to convene a summit
12:58in New York on this matter.
13:00Furthermore, we call upon President Trump to fulfill the commitments he made to the leaders of the Arab and Islamic
13:08States last September.
13:09Last September.
13:12Excession of Palestinian land and to reject displacement.
13:18Mr. President, Excellencies.
13:21It is impossible to separate Israel's land seizure practices from the dismantling of Palestinian institutions and the depletion of its
13:31financial resources.
13:34All of these are tools that lead to one same result, weakening our people's ability to remain steadfast and stay
13:43on their land.
13:46This leads to undermining our people's national institutions and preventing the realization of its state.
13:52In fact, the Israeli government is withholding more than $6 billion that belong to the Palestinian people.
14:06We are demanding the immediate release of all our withheld funds, the guarantee of their regular and full transfer, and
14:22the lifting of the financial and economic restrictions,
14:25and the blockade imposed on our people and our institutions in accordance with the Paris economic protocol, which was agreed
14:35upon following the Oslo Convention.
14:39Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, one year after the International Peace Conference and the adoption of the New York Declaration,
14:46I say to you today, with full confidence and responsibility, we have fulfilled our pledge.
14:56We have fulfilled our pledge.
15:01We completed the national reform program to which we had committed before our people and the international community.
15:08We strengthened institutional governance, public financial management, transparency, accountability, anti-corruption measures, and the rule of law.
15:20We established a unified needs-based national system for social protection and social welfare,
15:30abolished the previous laws and regulations on this matter,
15:36and obtained an independent international audit confirming the validity of our measures.
15:47We also continue to reform the education system and develop criteria and curricula
15:56in accordance with international standards and in cooperation with UNESCO in a manner that promotes the values of peace, tolerance,
16:04and respect for others
16:05while preserving our national identity and the rights of our people.
16:10We also proceeded along the path of democratic revival and the empowerment of women and youth.
16:18We have held local council elections and elections for the General Union of Palestinian Students.
16:24We are headed towards our legislative elections on the 28th of November of this year.
16:34And this will be followed by the completion of the renewal of the institutions of the Palestinian National Council,
16:40followed by the Palestinian presidential elections.
16:45On behalf of the state of Palestine, I reaffirm the commitments in which we believe.
16:50We seek security and peace for all.
16:54We reject attacks against civilians by any party whatsoever.
17:00We reject terrorism and extremism in all their forms.
17:05We combat anti-Semitism, racism, and hatred.
17:11And we believe in a culture of peace, dialogue, and coexistence.
17:21We seek a democratic Palestinian state that respects the rule of law and human rights.
17:32A non-militarized state, a non-militarized state that lives in security and peace alongside the state of Israel.
17:41Is this possible?
17:45Ladies and gentlemen, our commitment to peace did not begin today.
17:52In 1988, our people and its leadership made a historic and difficult decision.
18:00And we accepted a historic settlement founded on the two-state solution on the basis of international legitimacy.
18:08Today, we say to the world, saving the solution begins with preserving the land on which the Palestinian state is
18:17to be established
18:18and protecting the people who live on it.
18:23The Palestinian people will remain on its land.
18:29The Palestinian people will not accept displacement, will not accept displacement, and will not disappear.
18:37Neither military occupation nor settlement expansion, annexation, nor settler terrorism can be a solution or create lasting security.
18:48At the same time, we will not remain in waiting, nor will we accept whatever the governments of the Israeli
18:56occupying state decide for us.
18:59They have no right to decide for us.
19:03No lasting security can be built upon the occupation of another people and the denial of its legitimate rights.
19:11We have our own national project, protecting our people from displacement, preserving our land and its unity, democratically renewing our
19:24institutions, and building our state while remaining committed to international law and exercising our right to self-determination.
19:49We do not want a new process for managing the conflict while the face of the land changes every day.
20:01We want a process that puts an end to occupation and guarantees freedom and self-determination for Palestinians.
20:10A process that guarantees also security and peace for Israelis in the countries of the region.
20:15Our vision for peace is clear.
20:19Our vision for peace is clear.
20:20A Palestinian people remaining on its own land, determining its future for itself.
20:25And the Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel.
20:29And the Palestinian Israeli peace that paves the way to regional integration, cooperation, prosperity, and security for everyone.
20:41Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, we thank all the countries and peoples that have stood by our people.
20:51We thank countries and peoples that have lent political, humanitarian, and economic support, and helped us preserve our institutions and
21:00provide relief to our people.
21:04We also thank the countries that have recognized the state of Palestine, which now number 160 states.
21:12And we call on those countries that have not yet recognized the state of Palestine to do so.
21:19We likewise call for granting the state of Palestine full membership in the United Nations, similar to the rest of
21:28the nations and peoples of the world.
21:35Finally, I address the sons and daughters of our Palestinian people in their homeland and in the diaspora.
21:45You have painted the greatest picture of pride and dignity by holding steadfastly onto your land, your unity, and your
21:54legitimate rights.
21:56We will not leave our homeland.
21:59We will not accept displacement.
22:02And we will not allow anyone to decide our future on our behalf.
22:07We decide for ourselves.
22:10We will extend our hands to a peace based on international legitimacy so that our freedom and independence can be
22:17achieved,
22:17and so that everyone in the region may live in security, peace, and good neighborliness.
22:27Peace be upon you all in the mercy of Allah and his blessings.
22:33.