Palestinian leader Abbas calls for US to end arms shipments to Israel

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the international community Thursday, particularly the United States, to stop sending weapons to Israel to end the bloodshed in the West Bank and Gaza.

Abbas, speaking to the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, singled out the U.S. because of its arms shipments and vetoes of Security Council resolutions condemning Israel’s nearly yearlong war against Hamas militants in Gaza.

"Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel,” Abbas said. “This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.”

He said the U.S., in exercising its veto power in Security Council votes, effectively said, “'No, the fighting is going to continue.'”

In another U.N. address, Edgard Leblanc Fils, the president of Haiti's transitional presidential council, announced that he supports a U.N. peacekeeping mission to fight gang violence that is still overwhelming authorities in the island nation in the Caribbean.

It was the first time that a Haitian government official had expressed public approval of a peacekeeping mission since the U.S. broached the idea earlier this month as one way to secure more resources for a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya that officials say lacks personnel and funding.

"I am convinced that this change of status, whilst recognizing the errors of the past cannot be repeated, would guarantee the full success of the mission," Leblanc told the General Assembly.

On Wednesday, Leblanc met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others to talk about the state of the mission, which began when the first contingent of Kenyan police arrived in Haiti in late June.

Nearly 400 Kenyan officers are now in Haiti, joined by nearly two dozen police officers and soldiers from Jamaica. The number of officers falls significantly short of the 2,500 pledged by various countries, including Chad, Benin, Bangladesh and Barbados, for the mission.

The mandate of the current mission expires soon and must be renewed by this coming Wednesday.

"We would like to see a thought being given to transforming the security support mission into a peacekeeping mission under the mandate of the U.N.," Leblanc said.

The U.N. Security Council would ultimately have to vote on a peacekeeping mission, and experts have said it's unlikely it would support one. They have noted many Haitians would likely balk at it, given the introduction of cholera and sexual abuse cases that occurred when U.N. troops were last in Haiti. Since the early 1900s, there have been at least three major foreign military interventions in Haiti led by the United States and the United Nations.

Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, ignited the war in Gaza last October 7 with its shock attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 41,000 in Gaza, according to Hamas health officials, although the Israeli military says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas fighters.

Abbas said the U.S. "furnished Israel with the deadly weapons that it used to kill thousands of innocent civilians, children and women. This further encouraged Israel to continuous aggression," contending that Israel "does not deserve" to be a U.N. member.

Abbas said that when the war ends, the Palestinian Authority should exercise full control of the Gaza Strip, a stance Israel has rejected.

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., assailed Abbas’ 26-minute speech for not once saying the word Hamas and citing the militant group’s pivotal role in igniting the conflict.

“The Palestinian Authority under his leadership pays salaries to terrorists who kill Israelis: whoever kills more – Abbas pays him more,” Danon said. “Only when he stands on the U.N. platform does he talk about a peaceful solution.”

“There is no greater hypocrisy and lie than this,” Danon said. “Abbas’ legacy is one of chronic weakness in the face of terrorism and hatred.”

While not mentioning Hamas, Abbas said, “From the very first day, I stressed the need to immediately stop the war. I condemned the killing of civilians, regardless of who they are and regardless of what side they were on or any people they were from. I demanded the release of prisoners and those detained by both sides.”

His remarks came a week after he called for a peace conference in Madrid aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire deal have stalemated for months.

The General Assembly is also hearing from Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib, on Thursday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled to speak Friday, following several days of Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah militants.

Others giving speeches Thursday include Sudan's military leader, Generaal Abdel-Fattah Burhan, European Council President Charles Michel, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Kenya's President William Ruto, Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Pou, and Micronesia's President Wesley Simina.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.