Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

Palestine and Lebanon’s leaders address UNGA ahead of Netanyahu’s arrival

A representation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Pro-Palestinian protesters rally against Israel's strikes in Gaza and Lebanon during demonstrations in New York City, on Sept. 26, 2024.

A representation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Pro-Palestinian protesters rally against Israel's strikes in Gaza and Lebanon during demonstrations in New York City, on Sept. 26, 2024.

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
UNITED NATIONS – When Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader, addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, he began, “We will not leave. Palestine is our homeland. If anyone were to leave, it would be the occupier.” He called on the international community to stop sending weapons to Israel — which he accused of “launching wars of genocide” in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon — and instead implement sanctions.

Abbas then laid out a 12-point policy for what is needed “immediately and on day one after the war ends.” The plan included a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, an end to the “military aggression by settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” humanitarian aid, and the return of displaced peoples. He called for Palestine to be given full membership to the UN, and disparaged the US for being “the only member in the Security Council that voted against granting the state of Palestine full membership.”

Later that evening, Lebanon’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bouhabib called on Israel to adopt an immediate cease-fire and halt its strikes within Lebanese borders, noting that the cause of the current conflict was Israel's ongoing occupation. "The shortest path for the return [of displaced Israelis in the North]," he said, "is a comprehensive, immediate cease-fire as stipulated in the US-Franco declaration yesterday ... as part of a comprehensive framework accompanied by clear international guarantees, transparency, and a definitive end to land, sea, and air incursions and breaches of Lebanese sovereignty."

Both speeches came as the US, France, and several Arab nations tried to use the tail end of the UN General Assembly to broker a temporary Israel to agree to a cease-fire with Lebanon.

Meanwhile, protesters began marching outside the UN security perimeter on Thursday in anticipation of Friday's appearance at UNGA by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has instructed his military to keep fighting “with full force” in Lebanon. Netanyahu said on Thursday that "we will not stop until we achieve our goals, first and foremost returning the residents of the north safely to their homes."

More For You

A family votes during the second round of Hungary's general election in Budapest, April 23, 2006. Hungarians went to the polls on Sunday with the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany looking set to make history by becoming the first to retain power since the return of democracy in 1990.

A family votes during the second round of Hungary's general election in Budapest, April 23, 2006. Hungarians went to the polls on Sunday with the Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany looking set to make history by becoming the first to retain power since the return of democracy in 1990.

REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh
With the year's end fast approaching, it's time to look ahead to the elections that could reshuffle global power dynamics in 2026. Here are a few you should keep an eye on.Hungary’s parliamentary electionsAfter consolidating power and chipping away at democratic freedoms, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces his most credible challenger in [...]
Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset applaud during a Council of Europe diplomatic conference in The Hague, Netherlands, December 16, 2025.

Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset applaud during a Council of Europe diplomatic conference in The Hague, Netherlands, December 16, 2025.

REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
Ukraine peace talks up their paceUkraine peace talks are showing new signs of progress. US and European negotiators emerged from meetings in Berlin yesterday agreeing to provide so-called Article 5-like security guarantees and reportedly saying “90% of the issues between Ukraine and Russia” had been resolved. However, the promise seems vague and [...]
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., USA, on Dec. 5, 2025.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney draws his country’s name at the FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., USA, on Dec. 5, 2025.

ddp/Marc Schüler via Reuters Connect
158: Canada has been a self-governing nation for 158 years, and has been fully independent of the UK Parliament since 1982. But Prime Minister Mark Carney has been sprinkling British English spellings – think words like “globalisation” or “colour” – into some of his communiqués, rather than Canadian English. Some linguists are upset at his [...]
​Chief Superintendent of the police force's National Security Department Steve Li Kwai-wah speaks at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building after the verdict in the national security collusion trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, China, on December 15, 2025.

Chief Superintendent of the police force's National Security Department Steve Li Kwai-wah speaks at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building after the verdict in the national security collusion trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong, China, on December 15, 2025.

REUTERS/Lam Yik
156: After a 156-day trial, Hong Kong’s High Court found media tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty on national security charges on Monday. Lai, who advocated for democracy in the semi-autonomous Chinese city before the 2019 crackdown, now faces life imprisonment. The decision is another blow for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. [...]