United Nations Approves Palestine President Video Speech at Global Summit

The UN General Assembly has approved a resolution to allow Palestine's leader Mahmoud Abbas to address next week’s annual gathering of global representatives via remote connection following Donald Trump announced he would not issue him a US visa.

Resolution Results

The resolution garnered 145 votes in support, with five votes against and several countries abstaining.

US Visa Refusals

American authorities has declined to grant visas for as many as 90 members of a Palestinian delegation scheduled to participate in both a single-day meeting on the start of the week regarding a peaceful resolution and the UN's high-level high-level week beginning on Tuesday.

Global Support

A number of western states including Canada, French Republic, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Australia are due to officially acknowledge Palestinian statehood at the conference on Monday. The UK announcement is now anticipated to be made on Sunday, with David Lammy playing a prominent part. His message will stress that UK recognition presumes the militant group will play no role in a future Palestinian government.

What the UK’s recognition of Palestine as a state will mean

Abbas had intended to address the United Nations gathering to express gratitude to those states that had acknowledged a Palestinian right to sovereignty and to set out his vision for a future Palestine without the control of Hamas.

Iran Nuclear Talks

Iran’s nuclear programme will also be in focus at the UN with the evident stall in talks between Iranian officials and European leaders on the reimposition of UN sanctions upon the Islamic Republic.

France, the British and German governments – the three EU powers calling for the reimposition – claim Tehran is failing to resume discussions with the United States on the future of its nuclear programme after the US-Israeli attack on Tehran's atomic facilities. There seems a increasing possibility that the UN sanctions will be reimposed next week, which may lead to renewed demands for a armed action on Iran by Tel Aviv, possibly with the US, citing the risk from Tehran.

Netanyahu and Trump

Israel's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is due to address the general assembly on Friday and soon afterwards is set to hold talks with the US president in Washington.

In a move supported by Paris and the London, the UN Security Council on the end of the week turned down a proposal to remove indefinitely sanctions on Tehran, but Tehran and key European powers still have eight days to try and agree to a delay, including through talks in New York. The Islamic Republic described the measures of the three European powers as “illegal, unjustified and provocative”.

Britain, the French Republic and Germany launched a 30-day process on 28 August to reinstate global penalties, alleging Iran of not complying with a previous agreement with world powers that aimed to prevent it from acquiring a atomic bomb.

Iran claims it has communicated to the US to discuss terms for reopening talks, but that it has not gotten any reply.

David Waters
David Waters

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