Palestinian leader gives defiant U.N. speech

Speaking over video after the United States denied his visa, the Palestinian Authority president told worldlead-ers Thursday that his people reject the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and pledged that the militant group would have no role in governing the Gaza Strip after war ends and must hand over its weapons to his administration.

- By FARNOUSH AMIRI AND LEE KEATH

Mahmoud Abbas said to his people: “The dawn of freedom will emerge.”

Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly that Palestinians in Gaza “have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement” by Israel. His speech came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to New York to give his own address in person Friday.

In a short but resolute speech, Abbas laid out his continued vision for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel. That two-state solution has gained traction after a string of countries — including top U.S. allies — announced recognition of a Palestinian state in recent days.

But it also appears further than ever from realities onthe ground. Netanyahu’s government has rejected the creation ofa state.

The Palestinian Authority is ‘ready’

Israeli troops control most of the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu says Israel will maintain security control over the territory after Hamas is defeated, and he has rejected giving Abbas’ Palestinian Authority any role there. Some ministers in Netanyahu’s government have pushed for annexing the occupied West Bank, where Abbas’ authority currently administers small pockets of territory.