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00:00We are going to cross straight now to the United Nations General Assembly in New York,
00:04as I mentioned earlier, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority President,
00:08speaking now. Let's listen to him.
00:30of genocide that Israel is perpetrating. Israel, the occupying state,
00:38a crime that so far has killed more than 40,000 martyrs in Gaza alone,
00:47and thousands remain under the rubble. A crime that has injured more than 100,000
00:56others to this day, and matters are getting worse. Hundreds of Palestinian families have been
01:06annihilated. Entire family names have been wiped out of the civil record. More than 100 families
01:14have been completely wiped out of the civil record. They no longer exist. Thousands have died
01:21because of the spread of disease and epidemics and the shortages in medicine and water.
01:28Moreover, more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza have left their homes multiple times
01:37in search of safety and fleeing the systemic operations that the Israeli occupying army
01:49is perpetrating. And as this war of aggression continues,
01:54dozens are being killed every day, and double that amount is being injured
02:00amongst our bereft people in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank and in Jerusalem.
02:10I'm not here to respond to the lies of the Israeli Prime Minister,
02:15the lies that he said in his speech before the US Congress in July, where he claimed that his
02:22army does not kill innocent civilians in Gaza. I ask you by God, who was it then that killed
02:31more than 50,000 children of the 40,000, and an equal number of women and elderly persons
02:41from our people? And who is it then that is continuing to kill them? I ask you to answer me
02:47by God. Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide.
03:01Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible
03:13for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank,
03:18the West Bank that is under a daily and continuous Israeli aggression.
03:24It is under a vicious settlement activity. They're building everywhere in Palestine,
03:29as if all of Palestine is theirs.
03:34It is subjected to the terrorism of gangs of settlers under the patronage and support of the
03:42Israeli government and the occupying army, which destroys hundreds of houses in the lands of
03:51Palestine, not to mention what our eternal capital of Quds is being subjected to in terms of campaigns
04:00to change its nature, to Judaize it and to aggress it and its holy sites and landmarks,
04:05to change its historic and legal status. We've recently heard
04:13a terrorist Israeli minister calling for building a temple in the Al-Aqsa mosque.
04:24We must condemn and stop this reckless minister and those like him who want to set fire,
04:34a fire of religious conflict and strife that will burn everything in its way.
04:41The Al-Aqsa mosque and its surroundings, ladies and gentlemen, is the exclusive property of Muslims.
04:48This has been endorsed by a resolution taken by the League of Nations in 1930.
04:56This was a resolution by the League of Nations and we will accept nothing else regardless of
05:03the circumstances. Ladies and gentlemen, we have repeatedly warned here in the General Assembly
05:14that the situation in the occupied land of the state of Palestine warned of an explosion and
05:20this explosion has happened. It happened on October 7th of last year and afterwards
05:30and from the very first day. I stressed the need to immediately stop the war.
05:40I condemned the killing of civilians regardless of who they are and regardless of
05:44what side they were on or any people they were from.
05:48I demanded the release of prisoners and those detained by both sides.
05:55There is no need to detain women, children and the elderly. We've said this repeatedly.
06:03To anyone who has those people detained, I called for immediately going to the negotiations table
06:11to implement a two-state solution based on international resolutions.
06:17But instead of heeding the voice of reason, the Israeli government took advantage of what
06:24happened to launch an all-out war of genocide against Gaza. It committed and continues to commit
06:33war crimes as acknowledged by the international community. They're called war crimes.
06:39Israel today is now launching a new aggression on the brotherly Lebanese people. The Lebanese
06:48people are now being subjected to a war of genocide and Israel must stop the war in Lebanon
06:56and in Palestine. We condemn this aggression and we demand that it stops immediately.
07:07Israel has reoccupied the Gaza Strip in its entirety and it has destroyed it
07:14almost entirely so that Gaza is no longer fit for life.
07:22Most homes have been destroyed. The same applies to most buildings,
07:29health facilities, educational facilities, economic buildings, roads, churches, mosques,
07:36water plants, electric plants and sanitation plants. Anybody who goes to Gaza who'd known it
07:43before would not recognize it anymore. It's no longer there. 75 percent of everything in Gaza
07:48has been fully destroyed. If Israel thinks that it would get away from being held accountable
08:00and punished for these crimes, then it is delusional. The international community
08:07must immediately impose sanctions on Israel. The massacres, the crimes, the genocide that Israel
08:15has been perpetrating against our people since its inception in 1948 to this very day
08:24will not go unpunished. There is no statute of limitations.
08:30Rights will never be lost as long as there are those who demand them. And despite our repeated
08:40calls and demands, the world has not succeeded in obliging Israel, this transient state,
08:46to stop this war of genocide and its war crimes against innocent civilian
08:53residents. We regret that the U.S. administration
09:01obstructed three times draft resolutions in the Security Council demanding Israel to
09:14observe a ceasefire. The U.S. alone stood and said, no, the fighting is going to continue.
09:21It did this by using the veto. And added to that, it furnished Israel with the deadly weapons
09:30that it used to kill thousands of innocent civilians, children and women.
09:36And this further encouraged Israel to continue with aggression. As long as the U.S. is supporting
09:42it, then why not keep going, since it's already an aggressing state? This is the United States,
09:50the very country that was the only member in the Security Council that voted against
09:56granting the state of Palestine full membership in the U.N. We don't deserve membership in the
10:02eyes of America. So they use the veto against it. I don't understand how the United States could
10:11insist on opposing our people, insist on depriving us of our legitimate rights to freedom and
10:18independence, as is the right of the rest of the countries, 194 countries, and we are no less than
10:23them. Israel, which refuses to implement United Nations resolutions, does not deserve to be a
10:35member in this international organization. Israel, whose permanent representative in this organization
10:43says that the very building of the United Nations, and he said this, he said that this
10:49building must be removed. This building that we are sitting in right now, it must be wiped off
10:56the face of the earth. This country does not deserve to be a member in this organization.
11:01It is, from the very beginning, it has from the very beginning not fulfilled the conditions for
11:09membership. Because in 1949, when it submitted its membership application to the U.N., the U.N.
11:20imposed two conditions. First, to accept and implement Resolution 181 and Resolution 194.
11:30Without implementing these two conditions, you will not be granted membership in the United Nations.
11:36Moshe Sharif, the foreign minister at the time, wrote a pledge. You will see it. A written pledge
11:47that he and Israel are committed to the implementation of those resolutions.
11:55And since 1949, to this very day, nothing has happened. We are going to submit a request,
12:03a request, an application to the General Assembly on this matter. And as I said,
12:11if you return, then we will return. If they do not step back, then we will do more.
12:20I take this opportunity to commend the member states of the United Nations that voted with
12:27a two-thirds, with more than a two-thirds majority, in favor of the draft resolution
12:31submitted by the State of Palestine, supported by a large number of friendly and sisterly countries,
12:40to adopt the ICJ's historic advisory opinion, issued on the 19th of July 2024,
12:50to end the illegal Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine in a period of 12 months.
12:59For the very first time, there is a specific time frame. We demand the implementation of
13:05this particular requirement, including an immediate cessation of annexation and settlement
13:14activities, the dismantling of existing settlements, and evacuating settlers from
13:20Palestinian territories. There are 600,000 settlers, and they're living on our land.
13:26Why don't they go back to their homes? We must give reparations to Palestinians
13:34and for damages that were a result of the unlawful policies and the practices of the
13:41occupation and many other such issues that were mentioned in the ICJ's advisory opinion.
13:46We want what the ICJ stated and what the entire world accepted in the General Assembly,
13:52with a vast majority that far exceeds a two-thirds majority,
13:59and Israel must be made to implement it. We rely on this resolution, which is the embodiment of
14:06international will and the principles of international law and the mechanisms that
14:10were adopted in this regard to guarantee implementation. We hope that this resolution
14:15would be implemented. Of the 1,000 resolutions taken on the Palestinian people since 1948 until
14:21this very day, not a single one has been implemented yet. Ladies and gentlemen,
14:24today I feel very grateful as well. As I see this large, great shift
14:34in the positions of member states in the United Nations as they support Palestinians' rights
14:41to an independent state that is recognized and that deserves full membership in this organization,
14:49as is the case with the rest of the countries in the world that love freedom and peace.
14:57In the name of the Palestinian people, I thank you for this support. I thank you for your support
15:04of what is right, of justice, to achieve peace in our region. I call upon you to apply the laws
15:10of international law according to responsibilities and sovereignty. We don't
15:19ask you for more than you can do. We ask every state to give us our support within the realm
15:26of its responsibility and sovereignty. I also express our gratitude and appreciation for the
15:32demonstrations that spoke against the genocide in Gaza and that supported Palestinian rights
15:39that have been taking place throughout the world, including the American people.
15:46And I acknowledge the American people are marching in the streets in these demonstrations,
15:53and we are grateful to them. We appreciate what is happening in European countries and
15:59the noble supporters that come to Palestine, risking their lives as Israelis attack them.
16:07And here, I would like to make special mention of the Turkish-American martyr Aisha Noor,
16:18killed by the occupation army in cold blood. I say to those, the Palestinian people will not
16:25forget your honorable stand. We will remember you proudly when the occupation is eliminated
16:36and when our people enjoy freedom and independence. Ladies and gentlemen,
16:41recently there was much talk about the next day, the day after. What shall we do
16:48on the day after? What is our policy for the day after?
16:54And I say to you, the day after the end of the war in the Gaza Strip,
16:59I take this opportunity today to give you our view of what is needed immediately and on the
17:08day after the war ends. This is our proposal. We propose it to you. You can accept it,
17:13you can change it, you can amend it. We are ready for all that. First of all,
17:19a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the military
17:27aggressions and attacks by terrorist settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Second,
17:34humanitarian aid must be delivered urgently in an organized manner and in sufficient quantities,
17:43because there's nothing in Gaza and they need everything. This humanitarian aid must be
17:50delivered throughout Gaza. Third, a full, full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
17:59We refuse the establishment of buffer zones or taking any part from Gaza. Gaza is only seven
18:06kilometers by 40, and Israel wants to cut it up. It wants a piece here and a piece there,
18:09and we will not allow a single centimeter of Gaza to be taken. We demand that we stop
18:16the forced displacements inside the Gaza Strip or outside the Gaza Strip. We demand the return
18:21of those displaced to their homes and to have housing provided to them. Netanyahu wants the
18:30West Bank and the Gaza Strip people to be displaced, to be evacuated to Egypt and to Jordan.
18:37We refused. The Jordanian and Egyptian governments, and I thank them for this,
18:43said we will not allow the displacement of any Palestinians and eviction of the Palestinians
18:49from their lands. Fourth, we demand the protection of UNRWA and humanitarian organizations
18:54from Israel's actions and to provide political and financial support to these organizations
18:58so that they can perform their role and offer their services to the Palestinian refugees until
19:04they return home. UNRWA was established to do its job until the refugees return,
19:12and every day Israel finds an excuse to convince others that UNRWA's work must be ended. Fifth,
19:23we demand international protection for the Palestinians on the lands of their occupied
19:27land. We want protection. We are not fighting Israel. We cannot fight Israel, and we don't want
19:34to fight, but we want protection. We want our children, our women, our families to be protected
19:42internationally. Sixth, the state of Palestine must shoulder its responsibilities in the Gaza
19:51Strip and impose its full mandate on it and jurisdiction on it, including the border checkpoints,
19:59especially the Rafah international border between Egypt and Palestine as part of a comprehensive
20:03plan. This has existed before. It must return to the way it was. Seventh, and within the context
20:11of a comprehensive national reform process, this is a process that we're undertaking, and
20:23most countries have reviewed it, supported it, confirmed it, and thanked the Palestinian
20:27government for it, and hopefully we will continue with this process to the very end.
20:33In terms of this process, we will reconstruct our infrastructure and the state institutions
20:39destroyed by Israel. We will revive the economy and establish sustainable development and rebuild
20:45the Gaza Strip, and we will hold the state of Israel fully responsible. Eighth, the authority
20:52of the state of Palestine and the Palestinian government and the PLO, the legitimate and sole
20:58representative of the Palestinian people, will have authority on all Palestinian territories
21:05in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Eastern Jerusalem, as has been stipulated for us by
21:10international law. We are not asking for more, but we will not accept any less.
21:14The West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Eastern Jerusalem, we will not ask for more, but we will
21:18not accept any less. We will hold general elections. We're ready to hold the elections.
21:24We've been ready in the past, but Israel refused to allow us to hold these elections in Jerusalem.
21:32But if this were to happen, we're ready to hold these elections and to form a Palestinian
21:38government in accordance with the results of these elections. Ninth, we will continue to mobilize the
21:43largest possible international support so that the state of Palestine can achieve full membership in
21:49the United Nations as soon as possible. What do we lack to be sitting amongst you? What do we lack
21:57to be on the same footing as 194 official member states in the United Nations? We have the land. We
22:04have the authority. We have the people. We have the culture. We have the knowledge. We have
22:08everything that we need. We ask you to help us. Tenth, the full implementation of the General
22:17Assembly resolution on the advisory opinion that we mentioned, issued by the International Court
22:23of Justice in a manner that would lead to the end of the occupation in 12 months, as stipulated by
22:30the resolution, as set by the advisory opinion. Number 11, hold an international peace conference
22:37under the auspices of the United Nations within a year to apply the two-state solution.
22:44So we hold this international conference so that we would resolve all the problems that
22:48remain between us and Israel. By the way, we recognize the state of Israel, but Israel doesn't
22:51recognize us. We want a solution that would protect both countries, the state of Palestine
23:00and the state of Israel, so that they can coexist in peace, stability, and security.
23:05Number 12, to adopt international peacekeeping forces by virtue of a security council resolution
23:13between the states of Palestine and Israel to guarantee the security of both countries.
23:18We call for guaranteeing the security of both countries. These are the elements of our vision
23:24for the day after, for today and for the day after the war ends, in the state of Palestine
23:32in general. And I call upon you to adopt this plan and to provide all the necessary means
23:37to guarantee its success, ladies and gentlemen. A few weeks ago, I declared that I've decided to
23:44lead a Palestinian delegation to the Gaza Strip, so that we can stand by our people
23:52who have been exhausted by the Israeli genocide war. I call upon you to support this decision
24:00by issuing a United Nations decision resolution by the United Nations here,
24:06by pressuring the occupying government, so that it would not obstruct this effort.
24:11And here, I welcome any state, any party that wants to join us in this visit. We'll be happy
24:20to go with you to Gaza, so that we could all see the tragedies that are taking place.
24:28I salute our heroic people that are sacrificing all that is precious for Palestine in the Gaza
24:38of sacrifice, in the West Bank of solidarity, of Al-Quds, which is our crown jewel,
24:46and our capital. We salute our people in the diaspora, in the refugee camps, to our brave
24:57prisoners in Israeli prisons, 6,000 prisoners. Israel arrests whoever it wants. Those prisoners
25:02who are, whose dignity is being violated every day. Palestine will be free.
25:13It will be free, despite anyone who objects to that. Our people will live on the land of
25:20their fathers and grandfathers, as they have done for more than 6,000 years.
25:24They will continue their legitimate struggle for independence.
25:28The occupation will end, will end, will end. God's and peace blessings be upon you.