Mahmoud Abbas urges Trump to allow UN agencies to deliver aid, calls mass displacement and starvation of Palestinians a ‘stain on humanity’
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians from the Gaza Strip or to annex the occupied West Bank while calling on the international community to halt Israel’s “genocidal war.”
In a speech aired by Palestine TV, Abbas said the Palestinian people in Gaza are enduring “the worst humanitarian catastrophe of this time” and stressed that global silence in the face of Israeli actions has enabled mass suffering.
“What is happening in Gaza — the killing, starvation, destruction and forced displacement — is a disgrace to the international community if it does not act immediately to stop this genocide,” he said.
Abbas renewed his call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the entry of food and medical supplies and the release of Palestinian tax revenues withheld by Israel.
He appealed directly to US President Donald Trump to intervene and allow UN agencies to deliver desperately needed aid, urging the world to act quickly to deliver hundreds of thousands of tons of aid stranded around Gaza.
Abbas also warned that Israel’s ongoing blockade and denial of aid have resulted in over 100 deaths due to hunger and malnutrition, including more than 80 children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
“The situation in Gaza is turning into collective death,” he said, citing a recent warning by the Gaza Government Media Office after over 140 days of sealed border crossings.
Since March 2, Israel has avoided implementing a proposed ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian group Hamas, keeping aid convoys blocked at crossings.
“I cry out to God to save the Palestinian people everywhere,” Abbas said, adding: “How is it possible for the world to ignore babies dying of hunger in Gaza?”
He stressed that his government must be allowed to resume full authority in Gaza, oversee reconstruction and help displaced Palestinians return to their homes — all with Arab and international support.
Abbas also reiterated his firm opposition to Israeli annexation plans in the West Bank.
“This is a dangerous escalation and a direct attack on the rights of the Palestinian people to an independent and sovereign state,” he said, calling on the international community to reject Israel’s violations and recognize the State of Palestine.
He also praised the resilience of Palestinians, saying: “Your patience and steadfastness are an honor to all of us.”
The remarks followed a symbolic but controversial vote in the Israeli Knesset on Wednesday, where 71 lawmakers supported a nonbinding proposal urging the government to annex the occupied West Bank, including the Jordan Valley, and 13 voted against it. The motion was submitted by members of the far-right Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit and Likud parties.
Although the proposal carries no legal force, Israeli media described it as having significant “symbolic and historic weight.”
