Pres. Abbas: Palestinians Undergo One Of Most Horrific Chapters Of Human Tragedy

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW YORK, Sept 25 (KUNA) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday that the Israeli occupation is not only committing a war crime against Palestinians but also a document crime against humanity.
"It will be recorded in history books and in the conscience of humanity as one of the most horrific chapters of human tragedy in the 20th and 21st centuries," President Abbas said in his videoconferencing speech to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
He pointed out that over nearly two years, the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been facing a genocidal war of extermination, destruction, starvation, and displacement waged by the Israeli occupation forces.
"This war has killed and wounded more than 220,000 Palestinians, the majority of them children, women, and elderly civilians, displaced hundreds of thousands, prevented the delivery of food and medicine, and starved two million Palestinians," he said.
"A suffocating siege has been imposed on an entire people, destroying more than 80 percent of homes, schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and infrastructure."
The Palestinian leader emphasized that despite the suffering of Palestinian people under the Israeli occupation, "we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7th".
He affirmed that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and that the Palestinian Authority is ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security there.
"Hamas will have no role in governance, and it, along with other factions, must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian National Authority within the framework of building the institutions of one state, one law, and one legitimate security force. We reiterate that we do not want an armed state," he vowed.
He commended the recently held high-level international conference on the implementation of the two-state solution.
"Here, on behalf of the Palestinian people, I extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude to all the states that have recently recognized the State of Palestine and those preparing to do so soon. We call upon all states that have not yet recognized Palestine to do so, and we demand support for Palestine's full UN membership. It must be recalled that we already recognized Israel's right to exist in 1988 and again in 1993, and we continue to do so."
"We deeply value the peoples and organizations worldwide that have demonstrated in solidarity with the Palestinian people's rights to freedom and independence and to end war, destruction, and starvation. We reject any conflation between solidarity with Palestine and antisemitism, which we categorically reject, based on our values and principles."
President Abbas called for an immediate and permanent cessation of the war in Gaza, unconditional delivery of humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages and prisoners on both sides.
He also underlined the need for full withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, rejection of displacement schemes, cessation of settlement activity and settler terrorism, halting the theft of Palestinian land and property under annexation pretexts, and stopping violations of the historical and legal status of holy sites-all unilateral actions that undermine the two-state solution in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.
He stressed that there will be no peace without justice, and no justice without Palestine's liberation.
"We want to live in freedom, security, and peace like all other peoples of the earth-in an independent, sovereign state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace with our neighbors. We want a modern, civil state, free of violence, weapons, and extremism, respectful of law and human rights, investing in people, development, technology, and education-not in wars and conflicts," he said. (end)
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