NEW YORK/CAIRO/GAZA: U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday 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, 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.
Later on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Donald Trump met the leaders of Muslim-majority nations, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the Gaza crisis. Participants included Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan.
France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal have all recognised the Palestinian state in the past two days. Their moves have angered Israel and the United States.
“As if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize the Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists, for their atrocities,” Trump said in his speech at the U.N. “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. Calling for the release of all living hostages and the bodies of those who have died in captivity, he said: “We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to stop it, to get it done.”
Trump will present a group of Arab and Muslim leaders with a proposal for peace and post-war governance in Gaza, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials and two Arab officials. Officials from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan will participate in the meeting, Axios reported. The U.S. also wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send military forces to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to secure Arab and Muslim funding for a transition and rebuilding, Axios reported.
Hamas rejected US President Donald Trump’s accusation that the Palestinian militant group was blocking efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza. “Hamas has never been an obstacle to reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip... The US administration, the mediators and the entire world know that the war criminal (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is the sole party obstructing all attempts to reach an agreement,” Hamas said in a statement.
Trump criticized the United Nations for failing to support American-led peace efforts, telling the General Assembly he had resolved multiple global conflicts, including that of Pakistan, India, without assistance from the international 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 in finalizing the deal,” Trump said. “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” asked Trump in a wide-ranging speech lasting nearly an hour. “It has such tremendous potential but it’s not even coming close to living up to that. All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter,” he said. “It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war.” The 79-year-old’s litany of complaints even extended to a broken escalator and teleprompter at the New York headquarters of the UN, which he has repeatedly targeted during both of his presidential terms. His strongest language was reserved for blasting migration, one of the core political messages that has driven his two US election victories. Trump lambasted the UN for “funding an assault” on Western nations that he described as an “invasion.” “Your countries are going to hell,” he told European leaders. Trump had more harsh words for European allies for failing to stop oil purchases from Russia. He criticized China and India on the same score—but Moscow itself escaped relatively lightly. He asked NATO nations to shoot down Russian planes breaching their territory, as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of a UN summit.
The US president took a typically controversial stance on climate change too, calling it a “hoax” made up by “evil people.” He has pushed for oil drilling and rolled back environmental protections since returning to office. “Climate change—it’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” said Trump.
Trump boasted of his tough crime policies, including sending troops to Washington and deadly US strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug smuggling boats. “To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned that we will blow you out of existence,” Trump said.
Trump’s second term has opened with a blaze of nationalist policies curbing cooperation with the rest of the world.
He has moved to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization and the UN climate pact, severely curtailed US development assistance and wielded sanctions against foreign judges over rulings he sees as violating sovereignty. Opening the annual summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that aid cuts led by the United States were “wreaking havoc” in the world. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meanwhile warned in his speech of “anti-democratic forces” targeting institutions after an alleged coup plot orchestrated by his predecessor, who has won backing from Trump.
