25 September 2025
Assembly’s general debate called for the Organization’s “reset” and voiced hope for peace and reconciliation.
“We want a modern and democratic State that abides by international law, the rule of law and multilateralism and the peaceful transition of power,” Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, said, addressing leaders via video-link. The Palestinian Authority is willing to take responsibility for Gaza, he said, insisting that Hamas would not have a role for governance and security there.
With more than 220,000 Palestinians killed or injured over nearly two years of fighting, he accused Israel of committing genocide, marking “one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries”. Mr. Abbas condemned the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, saying those actions “do not represent the Palestinian people, nor their just struggle for freedom and independence”.
He said Palestine is ready to work with the United States, Saudi Arabia, France, the United Nations and all partners to implement the peace plan. “No matter how much our wounds bleed, and no matter how long this suffering lasts, it will not break our will to live and survive,” he stressed.
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Amid Crisis, Aspirations for Peace, Reform
In solidarity, Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, President of Yemen, voiced full support for the Palestinian Authority and urged all Member States to recognize Palestine as a State.
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State of Palestine: Mahmoud Abbas, President
“I speak to you today after almost two years in which our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement,” Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, said, addressing the General Assembly via video link. That genocide has been “waged by the Israeli occupation forces in which they killed and injured more than 220,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are unarmed children, women and the elderly”. He said these crimes will be recorded in “the pages of international conscience as one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries”.
He said, “we reject and completely deplore” a plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a “greater Israel”. That involves “expanding into sovereign Arab States in addition to the brutal attack against the sisterly State of Qatar”. He drew attention to the increasing “terrorism of settlers”, as they “burn homes and fields, they uproot trees and attack villages, and attack unarmed Palestinian civilians,” adding: “In fact, they kill them in broad daylight under the protection of the Israeli occupation army.”
“Despite all what our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on the seventh of October [2023],” he stated, adding that the targeting and hostage taking of Israeli citizens does “not represent the Palestinian people”, nor “their just struggle for freedom and independence”. The Gaza Strip “is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and we are ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there”, he said, emphasizing that “Hamas will not have a role to play in governance” and will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian national authority. “We reiterate: we do not want an armed State”.
Thanking the States that recently recognized Palestinian statehood, he said his authority had recognized Israel’s “right to exist” as early as 1988 and again in 1993. He underscored that they “rejected violence and terrorism” and “adopted a culture of peace”, but Israel did not adhere to the signed agreements. He thanked people and organizations around the world who protested in support of the rights of the Palestinian people, adding: “We reject confusing the solidarity with the Palestinian cause and the issue of antisemitism, which is something that we reject.”
He called for an immediate and permanent end to the war in Gaza, the entry of humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages and prisoners on both sides, the complete withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip, and the guarantee that residents of Gaza will remain on their lands without displacement. His party is ready to work with the United States, Saudi Arabia, France and the UN to implement the New York Declaration. “We want a modern and democratic State that abides by international law, the rule of law and multilateralism and the peaceful transition of power,” he said, indicating readiness to conduct elections within a year after the end of the war. “No matter how much our wounds bleed, and no matter how long this suffering lasts, it will not break our will to live and survive,” he said. “The dawn of freedom will emerge, and the flag of Palestine will fly high in our skies.”
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Yemen: Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, President
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He said it is time to form an international coalition to restore the security of his country and liberate it from the “clutches” of all terrorist groups. International law is not simply a myth, he said, calling Yemen and Gaza “the moral testing ground” of this Organization. They are the places where “the might of right is still able to confront the right of might”. He voiced appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s support for his country, and for Palestine — a “wound that continues to bleed”, he said, voicing full support for the Palestinian Authority and calling on Member States that have not yet done so to recognize Palestine as a State.
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Bolivia: Luis Alberto Arce Catacora, President
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Also rejecting the unilateral coercive measures on Cuba, he expressed alarm about the genocide of the Palestinian people.
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Gabon: Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, President
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Turning to global peace and justice, the President reaffirmed Gabon’s “support for the two-State solution, the only way to guarantee a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians”
Eswatini: Mswati III, King
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In the Middle East, he continued, these ad hoc committees should facilitate dialogue with all parties involved. “The team could ask the Palestinians what it will take to release the hostages, given the fact that the Israelis would remain aggrieved as long as their loved ones are not with them,” he specified.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina: Željko Komšić, Chairman of the Presidency
Turning to the situation in the Gaza Strip, he lamented the public’s “unacceptable” silence in the genocidal violence perpetrated against Palestinians. “Silence is actually an expression of cowardice or approval of cowardice,” he underscored.
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The Gambia: Muhammed Jallow, Vice-President
“The plight of the Palestinians remains unresolved, with its people continuing to face alarming difficulties under dire humanitarian conditions,” he said. He called for a two-State solution and “a State of Palestine within the 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital”.
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Libya: Mohamed Younis A Menfi, President of the Presidential Council
He also condemned the countries that are hiding behind immoral neutrality towards the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.
Ethiopia: Taye Atskeselassie Amde, President
Accordingly, he affirmed Addis Ababa’s support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, calling for immediate direct negotiation between the warring parties, wide humanitarian assistance to all in need, and the international community’s intervention to end the violence. “This is not a political preference but a moral imperative,” he said.
European Union: António Costa, President of the European Council
He cited Sudan — “an underreported and devastating conflict with destruction of huge proportions” — and Gaza, a humanitarian catastrophe that “shocks the world’s conscience”. Calling the use of starvation as a weapon of war “immoral”, he further condemned terrorism in all its forms. The horrific attacks by Hamas cannot be forgotten, and “we stand with Israel’s right to security”, he stated, calling for the immediate release of the hostages.
Citing the importance of a negotiated two-State solution, he noted the bloc is the largest provider of humanitarian aid to Palestinians — and has been the largest supporter of the Palestinian Authority. However, “peace in the Middle East requires a collective response,”, he said.
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Netherlands: Hendrikus Wilhelmus Maria (Dick) Schoof, Prime Minister
In Gaza, every day brings more heartbreaking images — “images we scarcely thought possible”, he said. Urging the Israeli Government to drastically change its course, he expressed support for the European Commission’s proposal to restrict investment in Israeli companies that develop dual use technologies. Further, “we want to suspend the European Union-Israel Association Agreement,” he said, and refuse goods from illegal settlements. Also stressing that Hamas is a terrorist organization that must lay down its arms, he said it has no place in the future governance of the Gaza Strip. Taking stock of how much there is to be done and how the UN has failed in many arenas, he said: “I understand that some of us may be tempted to give in to despair. And yet, we can’t allow that.”
Chad: Allah-Maye Halina, Prime Minister
The situation in Gaza represents a collective failure of the international community, a humanitarian scandal and an unprecedented moral challenge, he said, reiterating Chad’s call for recognition of a Palestinian State based on the two-State solution, pre-1967 borders and an immediate halt to illegal settlement activities. This week’s adoption of the New York Declaration is an historic step forward that must be transformed into concrete action, he said.
Sao Tome and Principe: Américo d’Oliveira dos Ramos, Prime Minister.
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He therefore called for a lasting solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and urged the international community to heighten support for African peace and security initiatives.
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United Kingdom: David Lammy, Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice and Deputy Prime Minister
David Lammy, Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, hailing the UN Charter as “our compass”, stressed that “what is happening in Gaza is indefensible”, inhumane, utterly unjustifiable and “must end now”. The people of Palestine “whose State we proudly recognized this week” and the people of Israel “deserve better”. Condemning the “horrific acts by Hamas” on 7 October 2023 and “Israel’s denial of life saving humanitarian aid and the catastrophic famine that it has caused”, he stressed “there can be no answer to these horrors but concerted diplomatic action”.
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Austria: Beate Meinl-Reisinger, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs
“Big problems can only be solved together,” she stressed, adding that everyone has the responsibility to act — not only in their own interest but for a better future for all. For this generation, the future does not seem brighter than the present, she noted, with fundamental fears of war, conflict, climate change and division. Yet, “we cannot close our eyes before the gap between aspiration and harsh reality” — for example, in Gaza, where devastation, starvation and despair have reached terrible proportions.
She condemned the “beyond imaginable brutality” of Hamas’ attacks and called for all hostages in Gaza to be freed. Concurrently, she stressed that nothing justifies the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza: violations of international law, including humanitarian law, cannot be excused. “The actions and decisions of the Israeli Government break my heart,” she stated, adding that this war must end now, the hostages must be freed, and humanitarian aid must reach the suffering civilians in Gaza as soon as possible. She outlined Austria’s vision: a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, with Israel and Palestine living side by side within recognized borders. She pledged that, once the right conditions are met, Austria will also recognize Palestine as a State.
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Mexico: Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez, Minister for Foreign Affairs
He also called for upholding international law alongside human rights, as war takes an “intolerable toll”, urging an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Norway: Espen Barth Eide, Minister for Foreign Affairs
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In Gaza, “life is living hell” — with nearly two years of extreme death, starvation, and forced displacement — while in the West Bank, “settlements and settler violence continue unchecked”. He declared: “The war must end now, massive humanitarian aid must reach those in need now, the remaining hostages must be released now and the illegal occupation must end now.”
Nevertheless, there is an alternative to the “never-ending cycle of violence”. At the recent conference on Palestine, Member States developed a roadmap toward a settlement of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Recognition of the State of Palestine, however, is only one step toward the two-State solution. “Palestinian governance must be strengthened, Hamas must be demobilized, and we need credible security guarantees between Israel and Palestine,” he added.
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Document Type: Press Release
Country: Austria, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chad, Ethiopia, European Union, Gabon, Gambia, Libya, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine (State of), United Kingdom, Yemen
Subject: Armed conflict, Gaza Strip, Human rights and international humanitarian law, Palestine question, Recognition of Palestine, Statehood-related, Two State solution
Publication Date: 25/09/2025
URL source: https://press.un.org/en/2025/ga12711.doc.htm