Reuters
[Photo Credit: Fiji Government]
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday condemned moves by Western powers to recognise a Palestinian state, saying such steps would reward “horrible atrocities” by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump said world powers should focus instead on securing the release of hostages held in Gaza, nearly two years after Hamas seized them in the deadly attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal have all recognised a Palestinian state in the past two days. Their moves were borne out of frustration with Israel over its offensive in Gaza and intended to promote a two-state solution, but have angered Israel and its close ally the United States.
Calling for the release of all living hostages and the bodies of those who have died in captivity, he said: “We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to stop it, to get it done.”
The two-state solution – the existence of both Israel and a Palestinian state – was the bedrock of the U.S.-backed peace process ushered in by the 1993 Oslo Accords, but the process has all but died.
Israel’s government has declared there will be no Palestinian state as it fights the militant group Hamas in Gaza following its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has drawn global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities.
Despite this, Israel has begun a ground assault on Gaza City with few prospects for a ceasefire, and wants Hamas to hand over the last hostages it seized in the 2023 attack on Israel.
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