*Blasts UN For Not Helping Peace Efforts
UNITED States (U.S.) President, Donald Trump, on Tuesday, September 23, condemned moves by Western powers to recognise a Palestinian State, saying such steps would reward “horrible atrocities” by the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.
In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Trump said world powers should focus instead on securing the release of hostages held in Gaza, nearly two years after Hamas seized them in the deadly attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal have all recognised a Palestinian State in the past two days.
According to Reuters, their moves were borne out of frustration with Israel over its offensive in Gaza and intended to promote a two-state solution, but have angered Israel and its close ally, the US.
“As if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognise the Palestinian State. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists, for their atrocities,” Trump said in his speech.
“This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities. Instead of giving in to Hamas’ ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message- release the hostages now, just release the hostages,” he said.
Trump was due to meet leaders and officials from multiple Muslim-majority countries- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan – on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza.
In addition to freeing hostages and ending the war, Trump is expected to discuss US plans around an Israeli withdrawal and post-war governance in Gaza, without Hamas involvement, according to Axios.
Washington wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send military forces to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to secure funding for transition and rebuilding programs, Axios reported.
Israel has drawn global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health authorities.
In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has begun a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City with few prospects for a ceasefire.
But Washington remains Israel’s staunchest ally and both boycotted a Summit in New York on Monday convened by France and Saudi Arabia, where dozens of world leaders gathered at the UN to embrace a Palestinian State.
No matter how many countries recognise Palestinian independence, full UN membership would require approval by the Security Council, where the US has a veto that it frequently uses to oppose resolutions that are critical of Israel.
UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, backed the moves for recognition while speaking at the Security Council later on Tuesday, saying: “This is the clearest path to a two-state solution: Israel and an independent, sovereign, democratic, viable and contiguous State of Palestine.
“We must seize this momentum.”
The two-state solution, the existence of both Israel and a Palestinian state, was the bedrock of the US-backed peace process ushered in by the 1993 Oslo Accords, but the process has all but died.
The most right-wing government in Israel’s history has declared there will be no Palestinian State, as it pushes on with its fight against militant group, Hamas, in Gaza, following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
It wants Hamas to hand over the last hostages it seized in the 2023 attack on Israel.
In his speech, Trump slammed the UN for failing to support American-led peace efforts, but then reassured UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, that the US “100 per cent” backs the world body.
“I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help.
“The United Nations wasn’t there for us,” Trump told the 193-member General Assembly, repeating disputed claims about his role as a global peacemaker.
Trump’s remarks reflect his long-standing wariness of multilateral institutions, particularly the UN. He has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness, cost and accountability of international bodies, arguing they often fail to serve US interests.
“What is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN has such tremendous potential … but it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential,” Trump said in a nearly hour-long speech to the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.
“All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war. The only thing that solves war and wars is action,” he said.
After his speech, Trump met with Guterres for the first time since returning to office in January, telling him: “Our country is behind the United Nations 100%.
“I may disagree with it sometimes, but I am so behind it, because I think the potential for peace with this institution is so great.”
Guterres told Trump the UN was “entirely at your disposal to be able to work together for a just peace.”
The UN chief last week defended the world body as having “very strong efforts in peace mediation … but we have no carrots and no sticks.”
The UN Security Council is the only UN body that can impose sanctions, but it has been deadlocked on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine because the US and Russia are veto powers.
“The United States has carrots and sticks. So, in some situations, if you are able to combine the two, I think we can have a very effective way to make sure that some peace process at least can lead to a successful result,” Guterres told reporters.
Trump wants to slash US funding for the UN and has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and quit the UN cultural agency, UNESCO.
He has also announced plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Trump jokingly complained that a UN escalator had abruptly stopped as he and First Lady, Melania Trump, were halfway up and then the teleprompter in the General Assembly did not work.
“I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble,” he said. “These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter.”
However, a UN official said the White House had operated its own teleprompter. After Trump finished speaking, UN General Assembly (UNGA) President, Annalena Baerbock, said: “The UN teleprompters are working perfectly.”
