‘Palestinians will not leave,’ their president tells world leaders at UN in defiant, virtual speech 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a defiant virtual speech to the UN General Assembly, declaring that ‘Palestinians will not leave,’ their homeland and issuing a powerful demand for international action to secure a two-state solution. Addressing world leaders, Abbas condemned ongoing Israeli actions, criticized U.S. policy, and outlined a renewed diplomatic push to achieve full Palestinian statehood and UN membership, framing the current moment as a critical juncture for the future of the Middle East.

A file photo of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations. His recent speech emphasized Palestinian resilience and the demand for statehood.

“We Will Not Leave”: Rejecting a Second Nakba

The emotional centerpiece of the Mahmoud Abbas UN speech was a resolute vow that Palestinians would not be displaced from their land. “I say to our people, we will not leave,” Abbas declared, directly invoking the trauma of the 1948 “Nakba,” or “catastrophe,” which saw the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the war surrounding Israel’s creation.

This rhetoric addresses what Palestinians perceive as a persistent effort to expel them from the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Abbas accused Israel of pursuing policies, such as settlement expansion and land confiscation, that are aimed at making the establishment of a viable Palestinian state impossible. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank has continued to expand, which a UN Security Council resolution has deemed a “flagrant violation” of international law. 

The Push for a Two-State Solution

Abbas reiterated that the only viable path to peace is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. He called for the convening of an international peace conference to finally resolve the decades-long conflict.

• 1967 Borders: Refers to the armistice lines that existed before the Six-Day War, in which Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
• Full UN Membership: Palestine currently holds “non-member observer state” status at the UN. Full membership would grant it voting rights and recognize it as a sovereign equal on the world stage.

For more background on this long-standing conflict, see our Explainer on the Israel-Palestine Conflict.

Sharp Criticism of Israel and the United States

President Abbas’s speech was not afraid to deliver direct criticism.  He accused Israel of “entrenching a reality of one racist state” through its actions and expressed disappointment that the international community had failed to hold it accountable.  Furthermore, a recent report by Amnesty International has also raised concerns about Israeli policies, further fueling the international debate. 

The United States also faced criticism from Abbas for its perceived failure to act as an impartial mediator in the peace process. He criticized the U.S. for not reopening the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem, a crucial diplomatic outpost for Palestinians, and for not taking action to halt Israeli settlement expansion. A prominent Middle East analyst expressed this sentiment on X.com.

“Abbas’s UN speech signals a clear loss of faith in the current peace process framework. By calling for a multilateral international conference, he’s explicitly stating that the era of U.S.-led mediation has failed to deliver for Palestinians.” –@MidEastPolicyJournal

The Diplomatic Path Forward: A Call to Action

Beyond the defiant rhetoric, the speech outlined a clear diplomatic strategy: a renewed and urgent push for full membership at the United Nations. Abbas urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the Security Council to take concrete steps to implement existing resolutions and finally recognize the State of Palestine. This appeal places the responsibility for resolving the conflict squarely on the international community, challenging world leaders to move beyond rhetoric and take decisive action.

Key Takeaways:

• No Displacement: Abbas vowed Palestinians would not leave their homeland, rejecting what he described as efforts to create a “second Nakba.”
• Demand for Statehood: He renewed the call for an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
• Push for UN Membership: A central demand was the elevation of Palestine from a “non-member observer state” to a full member of the United Nations.
• Criticism of Israel & US: The speech strongly condemned Israeli policies as racist and criticized the U.S. for its perceived inaction and bias.
• Call for Peace Conference: Abbas urged the international community to convene a peace conference to finally implement the two-state solution.
• International Responsibility: The speech framed the conflict’s resolution as a global responsibility, urging the UN to enforce its own resolutions.

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