Abbas Addresses UN General Assembly via Video After Visa Denial, Warns of Territorial Fragmentation Threatening Palestinian Statehood

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly through a recorded video after the United States denied visas to his delegation for the second consecutive year. He described the decision as unlawful, warned that Israeli settlement expansion and construction plans in the E1 area near Jerusalem pose a geographic threat to Palestinian statehood, and called for enforcement of Security Council Resolution 2334, reunification of Gaza and the West Bank, and full UN membership for Palestine. Abbas also announced Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for 28 November, the first since 2006.