Mahmoud Abbas, the 90‑year‑old head of the Palestinian Authority, addressed the UN General Assembly in a prerecorded video from his office in Ramallah on Thursday, after Washington refused to issue visas to him and six other senior officials.
The U.S. denial marks the second consecutive year it has blocked Palestinian officials from attending the assembly, a decision that Arab leaders argue undermines the Palestinian claim to a sovereign state.
Dr. Nasser al‑Qahtani, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, said the video message would carry Abbas’s appeal for a two‑state solution and a halt to settlement expansion, ‘without compromise’.
Beginning on the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak live in New York, a move that highlights the stark divide between the two leaders’ approaches to the conflict.
City‑sitting families in Ramallah’s Old City said the video message lifted their spirits, a reminder that diplomatic gestures still echo in everyday lives amid the blockade.
The dual speeches will give the UN a rare moment to hear both sides, and the U.S. may be pressured to revisit its visa policy ahead of the next General Assembly session.