Palestinian president sends video to UN after 'unlawful' visa denial

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has called on the US to stop blocking him from attending the UN, in a video-message beamed into the annual summit a day after Iran's president was allowed to address it in person.

Mr Abbas also called on US President Donald Trump to uphold his previous pledge to stop Israel annexing Palestinian land, telling the UN Israel had been stepping up a campaign to "completely erase Palestinian presence" in the region and kill off any prospect of a two-state solution.

For the second consecutive year, Mr Abbas was denied a US visa to attend the UN General Assembly's annual summit — a decision he said was punitive and unlawful. It was particularly notable given Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was allowed into New York under US Secret Service protection while leading a country at war with the US.

"We call upon the American administration to lift these sanctions and restrictions … rather than punishing the side that has chosen the path of international law and political and diplomatic action in order to guarantee its rights," Mr Abbas said.

The State Department denied the visa on grounds including that the Palestinian Authority, which Mr Abbas leads, had taken "actions to internationalise the Israeli-Palestinian conflict", including by actions in international courts.

'Do not allow another Nakba'

This year's UN General Assembly summit marks a year since a bloc of countries, including Australia, the UK and Canada, recognised Palestinian statehood in defiance of American opposition.

The UN also last year adopted the New York Declaration, which gave "unwavering support" to establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Mr Abbas said the Palestinian Authority had fulfilled its obligations under the declaration — including by implementing a national reform program.

But he said the international community needed to now act to stop Israel from undermining the two-state solution and carrying out a "malicious colonial scheme aimed at making the lives of Palestinians more difficult in their homeland and forcing them to leave it".

"Our people are being subjected at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces to killing, destruction, starvation and attempts at displacement, as well as a genocidal war that has created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe," he said.

"We warn you today: do not allow another Nakba to occur," he said, referring to the mass displacement suffered by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians when Israel was created in 1948.

"Do not allow terrorist gangs protected by the Israeli occupation forces to burn Palestinian homes while their occupants are sleeping inside them."

Rising violence

After declaring Israel's war in Gaza a genocide — which Israel denies — multiple human rights groups have documented increasing levels of violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. They include killings, beatings and intimidation of Palestinians, damage to homes, and cuts to communities' power and water.

The UN has reported an increase in Palestinians attacked by Israeli settlers — up from one Palestinian injured every three days in 2020, to more than three per day in 2026.

The settlements are deemed illegal under international law, and many world leaders have condemned them during speeches across the week. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said they were "bulldozing the path to peace and raising the spectre of ethnic cleansing".

Many critics of Israel say its occupation of the West Bank and settlement expansion amount to de facto annexation of the territory. Mr Trump has previously said he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

Israel has not formally declared an intention to annex the West Bank and denies the illegality of the settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed some recent violence on "juvenile delinquents" and a "handful of rioters", though independent observers have documented repeated instances of Israeli authorities supporting and enabling settler attacks.

Earlier this week, Mr Netanyahu's office mocked the series of criticisms directed towards Israel at the UN, posting an apparently AI-generated video on X showing parrots in the UN assembly hall repeating the words "blame Israel".

Earlier this month, the UK, France, Canada and nine other nations sanctioned the settlements. Australia had been part of discussions but withdrew late in the process, diplomatic sources told the ABC.

Mr Netanyahu was due to address the assembly several hours after Mr Abbas's message was played.