Netanyahu, Abbas Clash at U.N.; Hamas Rejects PA Role

At the U.N. General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a combative 40‑minute address blaming Iran and its regional proxies for the violence against Israel, saying Israeli forces have degraded Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and claiming key militant leaders including Hamas’s Yahya Sinwar and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah “are gone,” while rejecting a Palestinian state and vowing to continue strikes in Gaza until his conditions are met. His speech prompted walkouts, boos and protests, and the U.S. and U.K. were represented by junior diplomats while several European governments warned of possible sanctions over Israel’s campaign. Israel’s ambassador to Ghana rejected accusations of genocide, accused Hamas of hiding among civilians, and said Israel has evacuated about 600,000 people while blaming Hamas for the humanitarian crisis. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking remotely after being denied a U.S. visa, accused Israel of “war crimes” and “genocide,” rejected Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack as unrepresentative, and offered the PA as the postwar authority in Gaza while calling on Hamas to relinquish its weapons. Hamas angrily rejected Abbas’s demand, calling it a betrayal and insisting that armed resistance must continue.