Abbas to address UN by video after visa clash with US as questions swirl over Hamas

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will address the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday by video after the United States revoked his visa last month. The U.N. General Assembly voted 145 to 5 to allow Abbas to speak during the annual gathering, even as Washington said the PA has undermined peace efforts and about 80 Palestinians were barred from entering the United States.

Abbas remarks at the UN are expected to reflect statements he made Monday at a France- and Saudi-hosted event, where he called for an immediate cease-fire and for Hamas to hand over all weapons to the Palestinian Authority to ensure a unified state under one legal system and with one legitimate security force. He also condemned the crimes of the occupation and the killings and kidnappings of civilians, including those attributed to Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The PA, established in 1994 following the Oslo Accords, still governs parts of the West Bank but has been sidelined in recent years as Hamas has exercised de facto power in Gaza since 2007. The State Department has said the PA must repudiate terrorism, including the Oct. 7 massacre, before it can be considered a partner for peace.

Abbas argued that the PA is the sole legitimate authority to assume full governance and security in Gaza through a temporary administrative committee linked to the government in the West Bank, and that this effort would rely on Arab and international support. He described a reform plan under discussion that would reshape Gaza's financial institutions, align school curricula with UNESCO standards, create a social welfare program, and schedule presidential and parliamentary elections within a year of the war's end.

The PA has not played a major role in cease-fire negotiations, though Abbas thanked the United States, Qatar and Egypt for their mediation with Israel. The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether Washington supports re-implementing the PA. Israel has dismissed the UN push for Palestinian statehood as a charade and warned of consequences for moves to recognize a Palestinian state.

As Abbas prepares to speak to the UN by video, the world watches how the questions surrounding Hamas, Gaza governance and the path to a unified Palestinian state will shape the international response in the weeks ahead.