While ‘Palestine’ Is Not Even a Full UN Member, the Palestinian Cause Dominates First Day of General Assembly

As tradition goes, Brazil opens the annual United Nations gab-fest known as the General Assembly, followed by America. Yet, the star of the show on Tuesday was a yet-to-be full member of the organization, the Palestinian Authority. The 86-year-old president of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, is not scheduled to address the General Assembly until Thursday, yet the Palestinian cause, as well as Israel’s war on Hezbollah, figured in all speeches on the annual debate’s first day. For one, it was the most notable passage of President Biden’s self-congratulatory career-ending address to the UN.In a heated vitriol, King Abdullah II of Jordan denounced what he called Israel’s unprecedented “war crimes” in Gaza. President Erdogan of Turkey was even blunter: “Seventy years ago, just like Hitler was stopped by an alliance of humanity, Netanyahu and his network must be stopped by an alliance of humanity,” he said. Prime Minister Netanayhu is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Friday. “He thinks, and I agree, that it’s important to come and present the case for Israel, and he knows how to do it,” the Israeli UN ambassador, Danny Danon, told the Sun. “But you know, if the situation escalates with Hezbollah, he will have to recalculate.” Meanwhile, Mr. Danon said, “comparing our prime minister to Hitler is beyond imagination.” He noted that wars in Ukraine, Sudan, and elsewhere were hardly mentioned during the opening session, while Israel was taken to task by one speaker after another. Secretary-General Guterres opened the session with an attempt to rouse the crowd on causes like global inequality, climate crisis, and UN reform. He did mention Sudan and Ukraine, but the line that roused the hall to applause was his contention that “nothing can justify collective punishment in Gaza.”When Mr. Guterres speaks about Israeli hostages, “the UN Assembly is silent,” Mr. Danon said. “But when he speaks about the suffering in Gaza, he receives thunderous applause. This is the opening signal for the annual charade of hypocrisy.”President Lula of Brazil started his speech by congratulating the Palestinian Authority for the upgrade it received at the UN this year. After 2012, Palestine was pronounced an observer “state”; in May, it also gained the right to sit in the main hall alongside all other UN members. An American veto is blocking full Palestinian membership in the UN. Yet, since September “Palestine” is now able to propose resolutions. It immediately used its new privilege last week to put forward a resolution that many compare to the now-defunct “Zionism is racism.”The new resolution demands Israel leave the “occupied territories” — Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem, and Gaza — within one year. It threatens global sanctions, including an arms embargo and possible suspension of UN membership, if Israel fails to obey. While Mr. Biden was Tuesday’s most generous speaker to Israel, he too was applauded for highlighting the plight of civilians in Gaza. “The world must not flinch from the horrors of October 7,” he said. “Any country, any country, would have the right responsibility to ensure that such an attack could never happen again.” Yet, he added, “innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell. Thousands and thousands killed, including aid workers. Too many families dislocated, crowding in the tents, facing a dire humanitarian situation. They never asked for this war that Hamas started.”The remainder of the president’s speech was less rousing for the polite UN crowd. It summed up a political career since Mr. Biden was elected to the Senate in 1972. He congratulated himself for ending the war in Afghanistan and for diplomatic successes, such as creating the quad — Australia, India, Japan, and America — to stand up to Communist China. Mr. Biden expressed optimism about the future of humankind, and noted his decision to forgo a chance for re-election. “Some things are more important than staying in power,” he said. “We are here to serve the people, not the other way around.”Although Mr. Biden mostly looked back at his long career, his speech was also made amid a heated presidential campaign at home. He mentioned the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Harris, only once. Yet, the Trump-Vance campaign’s “rapid response” team reacted quickly. Mr. Biden “just delivered his swan song before the United Nations General Assembly, desperately attempting to depart with a shred of dignity,” the campaign wrote in a statement. “Under President Donald J. Trump, Iran was weak, ISIS was eliminated, Hamas was cut off, historic peace was descending on the Middle East, Russia was under control, and there hadn’t been a U.S. service member killed in Afghanistan in 18 months.”Mr. Biden, for once, attempted to rise above politics, seeming to make an effort to tell the world’s dignitaries how much he respects the UN. He even tweaked his now-familiar speech-ending phrase, “God bless the United States of America, and may God protect our troops.” Instead, he told the gathering world leaders, “God bless you all, and may God protect all those who seek peace.”

While ‘Palestine’ Is Not Even a Full UN Member, the Palestinian Cause Dominates First Day of General Assembly

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