Reuters
[Photo Credit: Reuters]
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged at the United Nations on Thursday to work with U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Nations on a peace plan for Gaza overwhelmingly backed by the world body.
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly earlier this month overwhelmingly endorsed a seven-page declaration that aims to advance a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants.
The declaration emerged from an international conference at the U.N. in July – hosted by Saudi Arabia and France – on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event and have rejected the international efforts.
Separately, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday that Trump had presented a 21-point peace plan for the Middle East and Gaza during a meeting with leaders of several Muslim-majority countries on the sidelines of this week’s U.N. General Assembly.
Abbas addressed the annual gathering of world leaders on Thursday via video after the United States said it give him a visa to travel to New York.
The points he raised are included in the declaration endorsed by the General Assembly.
An October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and about 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 65,000 people, also mostly civilians, have since been killed during the war in Gaza, according to local health authorities.
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