Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas is set to speak to the United Nations by video on Thursday, as the United States weighs whether to push back against Israel’s threats to annex the West Bank.
The 89-year-old leader will deliver his message to the General Assembly just days after France convened a special summit where several Western nations formally recognized the State of Palestine.
In a dramatic move underscoring its opposition to Abbas, the Trump administration denied him and his top aides permission to travel to New York for the annual gathering of world leaders. Even so, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to permit him to address the body virtually.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flatly rejected Palestinian statehood. He reiterated on Wednesday that the international recognition of Palestine “does not obligate Israel in any way,” and stressed once more that “there will be no Palestinian state.” Several members of his far-right coalition have threatened to advance annexation of the West Bank to ensure that outcome.
U.S. and France Align on Annexation Opposition
Despite disagreements on Palestinian statehood, French President Emmanuel Macron said Washington and Paris had found common ground in opposing annexation. “What President Trump told me yesterday was that the Europeans and Americans have the same position,” Macron told France 24 and Radio France Internationale.
Steve Witkoff, a longtime associate of Trump who has emerged as his roving negotiator, revealed that Trump presented a 21-point plan to Arab and Islamic leaders for ending the war. “I think it addresses Israeli concerns as well as the concerns of all the neighbors in the region,” Witkoff said at the Concordia summit, expressing confidence that a breakthrough announcement could come soon.
A White House official told AFP that Trump is eager to bring the conflict “to an expeditious close” and noted that regional partners had expressed readiness to engage with Special Envoy Witkoff on the President’s proposal.
Divisions Within Palestinian Leadership
Macron added that the U.S. plan draws on elements of a French blueprint, including Hamas’s disarmament and the deployment of an international stabilization force. A French position paper obtained by AFP further suggested that once a ceasefire is secured, security responsibilities in Gaza should gradually transition to a reformed Palestinian Authority.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who also met Trump, pledged that his country could provide at least 20,000 troops for such an operation.
Abbas’s Palestinian Authority exercises limited power in the West Bank under the framework of the Oslo Accords of 1993. But it remains deeply divided from Hamas, which controls Gaza. Netanyahu’s government has long sought to conflate the two groups, portraying them as indistinguishable.
Earlier this week, Abbas condemned the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel, which triggered a devastating Israeli military campaign. He also urged Hamas to disarm and place weapons under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
While Europe has resisted U.S. and Israeli moves to delegitimize Abbas, European powers insist the Palestinian Authority must undergo sweeping reforms. Netanyahu is expected to address the General Assembly on Friday, setting the stage for a renewed clash of visions.
What you should know
Mahmud Abbas’s rare video address to the UN comes at a critical juncture: Western nations are split between recognizing Palestinian statehood and resisting Israeli annexation, while the U.S. balances support for Israel with Trump’s push for a negotiated settlement.
Abbas, weakened by internal rivalries and age, is nonetheless positioning himself as the international face of Palestinian diplomacy, even as Netanyahu doubles down on rejecting any Palestinian state.
