Following Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' televised speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Israel's Foreign Ministry accused him of seeking Israel's erasure because of a small pin he wore during the address.
Abbas addressed the U.N. assembly (UNGA) via video link after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump did not issue him a visa to attend in person, amid U.S. opposition to recognitions of a "State of Palestine" at a conference on the sidelines of the summit.
During his speech, Abbas wore a pin in the shape of a key on the lapel of his suit. The key is a common symbol among Palestinian activists, symbolizing the demand for a right of return for Palestinian families who abandoned or were driven out of their homes before, during, and in the immediate aftermath of Israel's War of Independence in 1948.
Recent images show that Abbas has routinely worn the key-shaped pin during public addresses over the past two years.
"The dangerous duplicity of Mahmoud Abbas. In his speech addressing the UN General Assembly he wore a 'key pin – an unmistakable symbol of his goal of erasing Israel," the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote on 𝕏.
"While Hamas called the October 7 massacre the 'Al-Aqsa Flood,' Abbas wants his own flood under the guise of two states: millions of descendants of Arabs who left Israel in 1948 pushed into Israel to erase the only Jewish State," the statement continued.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has demanded that Arab families who fled the 1948 war be given permission to return to their properties – or be given compensation for them. Israeli leaders have said such a move would dilute the Jewish population of Israel, causing it to lose its character as a Jewish state and potentially endangering Jewish rights.
The Foreign Ministry also highlighted the apparent hypocrisy of the Palestinian demand for a right of return for Arabs to come to Israel. During the establishment of the state of Israel, especially after the fledgling nation declared its independence in 1948, hundreds of thousands of Jews were forced out of many Arab nations throughout the Middle East. Most of them were driven from their homes, some with only hours to collect a few items before being threatened with death.
"History matters: in 1948 the Arab world declared war on Israel, after which many more Jews were expelled from Arab countries to Israel than Arabs who left Israel," the ministry statement said.
To this day, no Arab nation has ever granted citizenship to any of the descendants of the Jews forced out of their countries in 1948, nor have they restored property or paid compensation.
Besides the Jews driven out of Arab nations, thousands of Jews living in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), as well as East Jerusalem, were driven out of their homes by Arab armies that attacked Israel during the War for Independence. While those Jews resettled within Israel's 1948 borders, they were never compensated for their losses, and properties they once owned in areas now under Palestinian Authority control have not been restored.
Abbas has previously stated that he would not allow any Jews to live in a Palestinian state. The Foreign Ministry therefore pointed out what it called a discrepancy: Abbas demands rights for Palestinian descendants while denying similar rights to Jews expelled from territory under his control.
In his speech, the PA leader called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, praising the declaration from the July conference hosted by France and Saudi Arabia at the United Nations, which demanded an end to the war and denounced the siege of Gaza.
Abbas also stated, "Hamas will have no role in governance, and it, along with other factions, must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, because we want one unified state, without arms outside the framework of the law, under one legal system, and with one legitimate security force."
While thanking countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, Abbas also claimed that the PA had "already recognized Israel's right to exist in 1988 and 1993, and we continue to do so."
At the end of his speech, Abbas addressed the Israeli public directly, saying, "Our future and your future lie in peace. Let the violence and war end."
He also extended a New Year's greeting, saying, "I wish all Jews around the world a happy New Year on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah."
Republished with permission from All Israel News