'Palestinians will not leave,' their president tells world leaders at UN in defiant, virtual speech

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Speaking over video after the United States denied his visa, the Palestinian leader told world leaders Thursday that his people reject the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and pledged that the militant group would have no role in governing the Gaza Strip after war ends and must hand over its weapons to his administration. Said Mahmoud Abbas to his people: “The dawn of freedom will emerge.”

Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly that Palestinians in Gaza “have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement” by Israel. His speech came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to New York to give his own address in person on Friday.

In a short but resolute speech, Abbas laid out his continued vision for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel. That two-state solution has gained traction after a string of countries – including top U.S. allies -- announced recognition of a Palestinian state this past week.

But it also appears further than ever from realities on the ground. Netanyahu’s government has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state.

Israeli troops control most of the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu says Israel will maintain security control over the territory after Hamas is defeated, and he has rejected giving Abbas’ Palestinian Authority any role in there. Some ministers in Netanyahu’s government have pushed for annexing the occupied West Bank, where Abbas’ authority currently administers small pockets of territory.

“There can be no justice if Palestine is not freed,” Abbas said.

The 89-year-old Abbas spoke for only 20 minutes — shorter than his previous addresses, which often ran over an hour. In it, he sought to build on the growing, but largely symbolic recognition of statehood to present his government as an alternative to Hamas — and to Israel's plans.

He said the Palestinian Authority is “ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security” in Gaza. He added that “Hamas will have no role to play in governance,” and will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian authorities.

Hamas has agreed to step down from power in Gaza but has rejected Israeli demands that it disarm, saying it has a right to resist Israeli occupation.

Hamas and Abbas' Fatah faction, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, have long been rivals. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 in clashes with Fatah, and since then multiple attempts at reconciliation and unity have failed. Meanwhile, Abbas' Palestinian Authority has grown increasingly unpopular among Palestinians, many of whom see it as ineffective, corrupt and a tool of Israel — even as Israel works to diminish its role.

Abbas said Israel’s campaign in Gaza “is not merely an aggression, it is a war crime and a crime against humanity.”

An increasing number of experts around the world have accused Israel of genocide in its Gaza assault. Israel denies the accusation, blaming Hamas for the death and destruction in the territory.

Abbas thanked the world leaders who have stood up for Palestinians throughout the Gaza war, saying that the recent recognition of Palestinian statehood has presented his people with hope for peace and an end to the conflict. He welcomed the recent announcements from France, the U.K. and Canada to recognize them as an independent state and called for the remaining few dozen countries to do the same.

But, he added, symbolic recognition is not enough to address the present moment.

“The time has come for the international community to do right by the Palestinian people, so that they may obtain their rights for their legitimate rights to be rid of the occupation and to not remain a hostage to the temperament of Israeli politics, which denies our rights and continue in their injustice, oppression and aggression,” Abbas said.

Before concluding, he sent a message of hope to the Palestinian people, saying that no matter how long the suffering continues, “its results will not break our will to live and survive.”

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 65,000 people and wounded more than 167,000 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It doesn’t say how many were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half the fatalities. More than 90% of housing in the territory has been destroyed, most of the population of more than 2 million have been displaced, and famine has been declared in northern Gaza.

Israel’s campaign was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Forty-eight captives remain in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.

“The dawn of freedom will emerge, and the flag of Palestine will fly high in our skies as a symbol of dignity, steadfastness and being free from the occupation,” Abbas said. “We will not leave our homeland. We will not leave our lands.”

Keath reported from Cairo.

A woman from the delegation of Israel watches Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas address the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A member of Israel delegation watches Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas address the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video at United Nations headquarters, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A state appeals court is being asked to dismiss felony voter misconduct charges against an Alaska resident born in American Samoa, one of numerous cases that have drawn attention to the complex citizenship status of people born in the U.S. territory.

In arguments Thursday, attorneys for Tupe Smith plan to ask the Alaska Court of Appeals in Anchorage to reverse a lower court's decision that let stand the indictment brought against her. Her supporters say she made an innocent mistake that does not merit charges, but the state contends Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship.

Prosecutors also have brought charges against 10 other people from American Samoa in the small Alaska community of Whittier, including Smith’s husband and her mother-in-law. American Samoa is the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by being born on American soil and instead are considered U.S. nationals. Paths to citizenship exist, such as naturalization, though that process can be expensive and cumbersome.

American Samoans can serve in the military, obtain U.S. passports and vote in elections in American Samoa, but they cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections.

About 25 people gathered on a snowy street outside the courthouse before Thursday's hearing to support Smith. One woman, Fran Seager of Palmer, held a sign that said, “Support our Samoans. They are US nationals.”

Smith's husband, Michael Pese, thanked the American Samoa community in the Anchorage area. “If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t be strong enough to face this head on,” he said.

State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a Democrat who attended the rally, said the Alaska Department of Law has limited resources.

“We should be going after people who are genuine criminals, who are violent criminals, or at least have the intent to deceive,” he said. “I do not think it is a good use of our limited state resources to go after these hardworking, taxpaying Alaskans who are not criminals.”

Smith was arrested after winning election to a regional school board in 2023. She said she relied on erroneous information from local election officials when she identified herself as a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms.

In a court filing in 2024, one of her previous attorneys said that when Smith answered questions from the Alaska state trooper who arrested her, she said she was aware that she could not vote in presidential elections but was “unaware of any other restrictions on her ability to vote.”

Smith said she marks herself as a U.S. national on paperwork. But when there was no such option on voter registration forms, she was told by city representatives that it was appropriate to mark U.S. citizen, according to the filing.

Smith “exercised what she believed was her right to vote in a local election. She did so without any intent to mislead or deceive anyone,” her current attorneys said in a filing in September. “Her belief that U.S. nationals may vote in local elections, which was supported by advice from City of Whittier election officials, was simply mistaken.”

The state has said Smith falsely and deliberately claimed citizenship. Prosecutors pointed to the language on the voter application forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022, which explicitly said that if the applicant was not at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, “do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.”

The counts Smith was indicted on “did not have anything to do with her belief in her ability to vote in certain elections; rather they concerned the straightforward question of whether or not Smith intentionally and falsely swore she was a United States citizen,” Kayla Doyle, an assistant attorney general, said in court filings last year.

One of Smith's attorneys, Neil Weare, co-founder of the Washington-based Right to Democracy Project, said by email last week that if the appeals court lets stand the indictment, Alaska will be “the only state to our knowledge with such a low bar for felony voter fraud.”

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

Michael Pese and his wife, Tupe Smith, stand outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Michael Pese, left, his wife, Tupe Smith, and their son Maximus pose for a photo outside the Boney Courthouse in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, ahead of the Alaska Court of Appeals hearing a challenge to the voter fraud case brought against her by the state. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE - Tupe Smith poses for a photo outside the school in Whittier, Alaska, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)