Abbas calls for end to Gaza war to establish independent Palestinian state

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the international community on Thursday to work toward ending the Israeli war in Gaza to pave the way for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

In a video address from Ramallah to the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, Abbas urged world powers to support Palestine’s bid for full UN membership.

Abbas was among 80 Palestinian officials whose visas were revoked by the US Department of State, leaving them unable to attend this week’s UN meetings in New York in person.

“Practical measures have begun with the appointment of a committee to draft a provisional constitution for transition from an authority to a modern civil state free of extremism,” he said.

Abbas stressed that the Gaza Strip is an “integral part of Palestine,” saying that the Palestinian leadership “is ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security in the enclave.”

In November 2012, the UN General Assembly granted Palestine the status of a non-member observer state.

The Palestinian leader called the ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip “a documented and recorded war crime and a crime against humanity.”

“Israel has destroyed more than 80 percent of the infrastructure in the Gaza Strip — a documented war crime that will be remembered in history,” he said.

“The extremist Israeli government continues to pursue annexation and settlement projects in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem,” he added.

Abbas strongly rejected the so-called “Greater Israel,” saying the idea “entails expansion into sovereign states.”

He reiterated the need for “an immediate and permanent halt to the war in Gaza, the unconditional entry of humanitarian aid through UN organizations, including UNRWA, an end to the use of starvation as a weapon, and the release of all prisoners on both sides.”

He also stressed the necessity of a “complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, ensuring that Gazans remain on their land without displacement, and implementing a recovery and reconstruction plan in both Gaza and the West Bank.”

Abbas pointed to the need for allowing the Palestinian state “to fully assume its responsibilities, starting with an administrative committee for Gaza, headed by a Palestinian minister, to manage the Strip’s affairs for a transitional period and connect it with the West Bank, with Arab and international support.”

He called for an end to Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank, “settler terrorism, and the theft of Palestinian land and property under the guise of annexation, as well as an end to violations of the historical and legal status of holy sites.”

Abbas said he is willing “to work with US President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France, the United Nations, and all partners” to implement the peace plan adopted by a UN conference on Sept. 22, “to open the path toward a just peace and comprehensive regional cooperation.”