Abbas issues statement at U.N. seeking to criminalize Jewish self-determination

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly on September 21, 2023, demanded that the U.N. criminalize the failure to embrace the Palestinians' anti-Israel narrative. According to Abbas, the establishment of Israel should be mourned as the "Nakba," and those who fail to do so should be arrested. He also tried to erase the Jewish people's historical connection to the biblical city of Jericho.

Abbas, currently in the 18th year of his four-year term of office, absurdly blamed Israel for his autocratic rule. He also claimed he would pursue lawfare against the United Kingdom and the United States for their support of the Balfour Declaration, which announced that the United Kingdom favored "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."

In his words:

"Last May, I participated in the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, a tragedy recognized by this august organization. Yet, this painful anniversary continues to be ignored and denied by Israel, which is the party that is primarily responsible for this Nakba. I call upon you today to criminalize its denial... The Palestinian people are remaining on their land, which they have inhabited for thousands of years, generation after generation, as again confirmed by a recent UNESCO resolution regarding the city of Jericho. They cannot leave their land, and if anyone must leave it must be the occupiers and usurpers...

All that remains for us is to hold democratic general elections, as conducted in 1996, 2005, and 2006. But the Israeli government is obstructing this...

For our part, we will persist with our pursuit of accountability and justice at the relevant international bodies against Israel..., as well as against both Britain and America for their roles in the fateful Balfour Declaration, and against everyone who had a role in the catastrophe and tragedy of our people..."