Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United States, to stop sending weapons to Israel to end the bloodshed in the West Bank and Gaza.
Abbas, speaking to the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, singled out the U.S. because of its arms shipments and vetoes of Security Council resolutions condemning Israel’s nearly yearlong war against Hamas militants in Gaza.
“Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel,” Abbas said. “This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.”
He said the U.S., in exercising its veto power in Security Council votes, effectively said, “’No, the fighting is going to continue.’”
Abbas said the U.S. “furnished Israel with the deadly weapons that it used to kill thousands of innocent civilians, children and women. This further encouraged Israel to continuous aggression,” contending that Israel “does not deserve” to be a U.N. member.
Abbas said that when the war ends, the Palestinian Authority should exercise full control of the Gaza Strip, a stance Israel has rejected.
Hamas ignited the war last October 7 with its shock attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 41,000 in Gaza, according to Hamas health officials, although the Israeli military says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas fighters.
