Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned, today Thursday, the decision by the United States not to grant him and members of the Palestinian delegation visas to attend the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York, describing the move as "punitive measures."
Abbas said in a speech delivered via video to the General Assembly, which was followed by the "News Video Agency," "We reject the measures that prevented the Palestinian delegation from attending the United Nations meetings," after he was unable to travel to New York to participate in the 81st session of the General Assembly.
Abbas also confirmed that the Palestinians want to establish an unarmed Palestinian state that lives alongside the state of Israel, within the framework of a settlement based on a two-state solution.
Regarding internal affairs, the Palestinian president announced that legislative elections will be held in November, in a step that comes as part of his remarks about the future of Palestinian institutions and arrangements for the next phase.
In that context, Abbas warned that the Israeli policies, as he put it, no longer only threaten the chances of implementing the two-state solution and establishing the Palestinian state, but have now begun to impact "the life and existence of the Palestinian people" on their land.
He said in his recorded speech to the United Nations General Assembly: "The danger is no longer limited to undermining the two-state solution and preventing the establishment of the Palestinian state, but has now reached the point of threatening the life and existence of the Palestinian people on their homeland."
Washington had refused to grant Abbas and several members of the Palestinian delegation visas to enter the United States to participate in the high-level meetings week. The "Associated Press" agency confirmed days ago that Abbas was among the Palestinian officials who did not receive visas, while the U.S. administration approved the entry of Iranian officials to participate in the meetings.