“When we hear something positive, we acknowledge it,” Abbas said, referring to statements by both Lapid and US President Joe Biden in favor of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I’ve heard them support the two-state solution, and we’re grateful for that.” “But the real test of the seriousness and credibility of this stance … is for the Israeli government to immediately return to the negotiating table,” the Palestinian Authority president said, adding that Israel must stop all unilateral actions, such as building settlements, the demolition of houses. , evictions and “murders”. Israel “with its premeditated and deliberate policies is destroying the two-state solution,” he told the General Assembly. “This proves beyond doubt that Israel does not believe in peace,” he added. “Therefore, we no longer have an Israeli partner to talk to.” Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms Expressing readiness to rekindle negotiations, he urged Israel: “You should at least stop temporarily [unilateral measures]… and if [the negotiations] you fail, then you can go back to whatever you want to do,” he said. Much of the speech focused on condemning Israel for a series of alleged crimes it said it committed during and after the establishment of the Jewish state, accusing it of operating an “apartheid” regime against the Palestinians. Abbas, 87, said Israel has engaged in a campaign of land confiscation and is giving the army “absolute freedom” to kill or otherwise use excessive force against Palestinians. “This is the truth: it’s an apartheid regime,” he said. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas holds a New York Times front page showing children killed in the May 2021 Israel-Hamas conflict as he addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP) He accused Israel of carrying out “50 massacres” – almost repeating a line that strongly condemned him in Germany last month, when he accused Israel of committing “50 massacres, 50 holocausts” against Palestinians over the years. This time, Abbas did not use the word “holocausts.” “Israel has committed 50 massacres since 1948 until today,” he said. He said the most recent of these “massacres” took place in Gaza during the May 2021 war Israel fought against Hamas. Abbas held the front page of the New York Times, which included photos of the 67 children killed during the war. Israel protested the article at the time, saying Hamas was responsible for many of those deaths. Echoing an accusation made on the same stage this week by Jordan’s King Abdullah, Abbas accused Israel of “targeting” Christian and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. Israel rejects the claim, saying that the only religion that does not enjoy full freedom of worship in Jerusalem is Judaism, since the status-quo governing behavior on the Temple Mount prohibits Jews from praying there. Critics counter that Israel has allowed the status quo to erode to a flashpoint and is seeking to confiscate church lands in the holy city. Abbas held up photos of Israeli police attacking attackers and mourners during the funeral procession for slain Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Abbas again claimed she was killed “intentionally” by an Israeli sniper and lamented the Biden administration’s refusal to prosecute those responsible, even though she was an American citizen. The US and Israel say Abu Akleh was likely killed accidentally by an Israeli soldier during a firefight that sparked an IDF raid on the Palestinian city of Jenin. Banners depicting slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh hang on a building overlooking the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank on July 14, 2022. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP) He accused Israel of “imposing falsified curricula” on Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem, heavy on a recent conflict that has embroiled the capital. Abbas has seen his popularity plummet because of his continued cooperation with Israel and his refusal to hold elections for more than 15 years. He insisted again on Friday that he is ready to hold a vote immediately, but cannot do so because Israel refuses to allow Palestinians in East Jerusalem to participate. Analysts, however, argued that the decision has more to do with fears of significant gains by the Hamas terror group at the expense of the Fatah movement. The Palestinian Authority president signaled his opposition to the 2015 Palestinian Liberation council votes to suspend recognition of Israel and end security coordination with the IDF, which Israel and the US credit for maintaining stability in the West Bank. Abbas said he tried to stop the implementation of those resolutions in the hope that there would be progress in diplomatic negotiations with Israel. “We told them to wait a little and be patient [because] maybe they will change their attitude,” he recalls. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas holds a graphic as he addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 23, 2022 (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP) The Palestinian Authority leader did not go so far as to explicitly state that he would suspend recognition of Israel as he had threatened to do in the past. But he said he would not be able to keep critics at bay for long and called on the international community to act. Several times during the 47-minute remarks, Abbas pleaded with the international community to support his initiative for the Palestinian UN mission to be granted full UN membership. Since 2012, it has had observer status, which has allowed it to join international organizations but which is in most respects largely symbolic. The Biden administration has warned the Palestinian Authority against advancing the initiative, indicating it would use its Security Council veto to prevent a General Assembly vote. Abbas suggested that the US position was unlikely to change, leaving him with few other options. However, he continued to disagree with the stance, saying Washington’s support for the two-state solution was only in words and not in action. The US is “pretending[s] to uphold international law and human rights,” he said, later saying the US and UK were complicit in the Nakba – the Arabic word for the catastrophe Palestinians use to describe the Israeli establishment. Meanwhile, Abbas said he would immediately apply for admission to several international organizations, including the World Health Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization. That will likely draw the ire of the Biden administration, given long-standing congressional legislation requiring the US to withdraw funding from UN bodies that accept Palestinian membership before there is a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech to the UN General Assembly is broadcast at the United Nations in New York, September 23, 2022. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel) Before ending his speech, Abbas paid tribute to the Palestinian “martyrs” who gave their “blood” to the Palestinian cause and expressed undivided solidarity with the “brave” Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli prisons. “They are living martyrs … and we will not let them go until they get their freedom,” Abbas said. He did not comment specifically on the PA’s stipends to prisoners and their families, which Israel and the US accuse of inciting terror. Abbas has told US officials privately for years that he is ready to reform what critics call a “pay-to-slay” policy. However, no measures in this direction have been announced, possibly given the highly unpopular nature of such a move. Lapid’s decision to back a Palestinian state in principle on the world stage marked a sharp shift from speeches over the past five years by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who largely used the pulpit to speak out against Iran and what he said it was Palestinian. rejection of Israeli peace efforts. In 2016, Netanyahu told the UN plenary that he was committed to a two-state vision, but later retracted the comments. Prime Minister Yair Lapid addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on September 22, 2022. (Avi Ohayon/GPO) Lapid said Israel has only one condition to obtain a Palestinian state: “That a future Palestinian state be peaceful. That it will not become another terror base from which to threaten the prosperity and very existence of Israel. That we will be able to protect the safety of all citizens of Israel, at all times.” “You can ask us to live by the values of the UN Charter,” he said, “but you can’t ask us to die for them.” Lapid’s call for a two-state solution in his speech drew condemnation from the right wing of his governing coalition, as…
