UN leader condemns Israeli West Bank military rule as General Assembly begins

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns Israel’s military rule in the West Bank in his opening address to the General Assembly, the UN’s annual gathering of world leaders.

“In Israel and Palestine, cycles of violence under the occupation continue as prospects for peace based on a two-state solution grow ever more distant,” Guterres says.

The opening of Guterres’s speech focuses on the Ukraine war, global food crisis and climate change.

He mentions the Israeli-Palestinian situation alongside global conflicts including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar and Syria.

The Palestinian delegation to the UN says Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered Guterres a letter calling on the UN leader to ensure “the right to self-determination, independence, and return.”

????At the #UNGA, President #Abbas
delivered a letter to
@antoniogutterus calling on the #UN
to overcome the political paralysis
and ensure its obligations, including
the right of the #Palestinian people to
self-determination, independence,
and return; (Cont. to read ????????) pic.twitter.com/JW89WjMW4B

— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) September 20, 2022

The UN says Guterres and Abbas met yesterday to discuss the occupation, UNRWA and shared commitments to a two-state solution.