Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Analysis

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
Make us preferred on Google
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

How Iran turned water into a weapon
Iran lands in the headlines a lot these days. But one recent development stood out for Americans thousands of miles from the war in the Middle East: Iran was likely behind a wave of cyberattacks targeting US water systems.Late last month, Minnesota announced that a “coordinated” cyberattack had hit more than 30 of its water systems. City and state [...]
Demonstrators participate in a nationwide protest against data centers, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S., July 18, 2026.

Demonstrators participate in a nationwide protest against data centers, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S., July 18, 2026.

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
In 2019, GZERO reported on a brewing backlash against AI’s facial recognition and surveillance capabilities. Seven years later, opposition to the technology, which has advanced dramatically since then, is intensifying. A survey of more than 18,000 people in 15 countries found that over one-third ranked AI development among their top concerns over [...]
A man holds up a Venezuelan flag in front of the sun.

A man holds up a Venezuelan flag while taking part in a march calling for amnesty for political prisoners and to mark Youth Day, in Caracas, Venezuela, February 12, 2026.

REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno
Since last weekend, Washington’s tutelage over Venezuela’s regime after the capture of autocrat Nicolás Maduro in January produced its clearest step yet toward an actual democratic transition: a US-brokered negotiation between the government and a slice of the opposition, opening what could be the first credible path to competitive elections in [...]
Small countries are betting big on AI data centers
Last month, Trinidad and Tobago signed agreements with American tech companies paving the way for them to build data centers in the island nation — the first deal of its kind in the Caribbean. Government officials hailed it as a transformational investment that could position the nation of just 1.5 million at the forefront of the AI boom. But not [...]