'We will not leave’: Palestinian President uses UN speech to condemn Hamas as he blasts Israel's 'war of genocide'
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has told the UN “we will not leave our lands” amid the “war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement" waged by Israel.
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Addressing the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York summit virtually, Mr Abbas said the Palestinian flag "will fly high in our skies as a symbol of dignity, steadfastness, and being free from the yoke of occupation".
"No matter how long the suffering lasts, it will not break our will to live and survive, the dawn of freedom will emerge," he added.
He said Israel has "imposed a stifling siege on an entire" population and destroyed more than 80% of homes, schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, facilities and infrastructure.”
"It will be recorded in history books and the pages of international conscience as one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the 20th and 21st centuries," Mr Abbas continued.
He also condemned Hamas for its October 7 attack on Israel, in which the group’s terrorists stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people - most of whom were civilians.
Read more: Veteran Palestinian leader Abbas says he will visit Gaza
Over 250 people were also taken hostage, on October 7, 48 remain in Gaza with fewer than half believed to be alive.
"Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7th - acts that targeted Israeli civilians and took them as hostages - because such actions do not represent the Palestinian people nor their just struggle for freedom and independence," he said.
Mr Abbas said Gaza is an "integral part of the State of Palestine,” adding that “we are ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security there.”
He said Hamas should have no role in governing the Palestinian state and ordered it and other factions to hand over weapons to the Palestinian National Authority.
Adding: "We reiterate that we do not want an armed state."
Mr Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, was forced to deliver the speech remotely after US President Donald Trump blocked him from attending the annual UN summit in New York.
Palestinian Authority, which exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and is at odds with Hamas, the militant group that governs the Gaza Strip.
Sir Keir Starmer confirmed on Sunday that the UK government now recognises the Palestinian state's provisional borders based on the 1967 lines, before Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
The move was part of a coordinated effort from Canada, Australia, and the UK to recognise the state ahead of the UN General Assembly being held this week.
Mr Abbas welcomed Sir Keir’s pledge for recognition ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, during a meeting with the Prime Minister in Downing Street earlier this month.
But the Israeli foreign ministry has condemned the move, saying: "Recognition is nothing but a reward for jihadist Hamas."
In a post on X it said "Hamas leaders themselves openly admit: this recognition is a direct outcome, the 'fruit' for the October 7 massacre.
"Don't let Jihadist ideology dictate your policy."
Israel is currently engaged in a ground offensive into Gaza City, which was preceded by aerial bombardment upon targets it says houses Hamas infrastructure.
According to Gaza's Health Ministry, the death toll in the enclave is more than 65,000.