Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech via video link during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday accused Israel of committing "a war of genocide" on Gaza, saying these crimes will be recorded in "the pages of international conscience as one of the most horrific chapters of humanitarian tragedy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries."

"I speak to you today after almost two years in which our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement," said Abbas while addressing the UN General Assembly via video link.

Genocide has been "waged by the Israeli occupation forces," in which they killed and injured more than 220,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are unarmed children, women and the elderly, he stressed.

The president also condemned the Israeli government's settlement expansion on the West Bank, warning that it threatens the two-state solution.

"We reject and completely deplore" a plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a "greater Israel," Abbas said, while drawing attention to the increasing "terrorism of settlers."

Meanwhile, "we reject what Hamas carried out on the seventh of October," said Abbas, noting that such acts do not represent the Palestinian people, nor "their just struggle for freedom and independence."

He affirmed that the Gaza Strip "is an integral part of the State of Palestine," and the Palestinian Authority is "ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there."

"Hamas will not have a role to play in governance," he added.

On Thursday, Israeli troops advanced further into Gaza City, as Netanyahu vowed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state before departing for New York to address the General Assembly on Friday.

The Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least 65,419 Palestinians since October 2023, according to the Gaza health authorities. ■

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech via video link during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech via video link during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech via video link during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech via video link during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech via video link during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech via video link during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech via video link during the General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Rui)