Israel's Netanyahu to address UN as pressure mounts over Gaza war

Facing international isolation accusations of war crimes and growing pressure to end a conflict he has continued to escalate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets his chance to push back Friday on the international communitys biggest platformNetanyahus annual speech to the UN General Assembly is always closely watched often protested reliably emphatic and sometimes a venue for dramatic allegations But this time the stakes are higher than ever for the Israeli leaderIn recent days Australia Canada France the United Kingdom and others announced their recognition of an independent Palestinian stateThe European Union is considering tariffs and sanctions on Israel The assembly this month passed a nonbinding resolution urging Israel to commit to an independent Palestinian nation which Netanyahu has said is a nonstarterThe International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant accusing Netanyahu of crimes against humanity which he denies And the UNs highest court is weighing South Africas allegation that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza which it vehemently refutesAgainst that backdrop Netanyahu sounded resolute Thursday as he boarded a plane in Israel to head for the UNs annual meeting of toplevel leaders in New YorkI will tell our truth Netanyahu said I will condemn those leaders who instead of condemning the murderers rapists and burners of children want to give them a state in the heart of IsraelOpposition to Netanyahus approach is growingAt a special session of the assembly this week nation after nation expressed horror at the 2023 attack by Hamas militants that killed about 1200 people in Israel saw 251 taken hostage and triggered the war Many of the representatives went on to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and influx of aidIsraels sweeping offensive has killed more than 65000 Palestinians in Gaza and displaced 90 per cent of its population with an increasing number now starvingWhile more than 150 countries now recognise a Palestinian state the United States has not providing Israel with vociferous support But President Donald Trump pointedly signalled Thursday there are limits telling reporters in Washington that he wouldnt let Israel annex the occupied West BankIsrael hasnt announced such a move but several leading members in Netanyahus government have advocated doing so And officials recently approved a controversial settlement project that would effectively cut the West Bank in two a move that critics say could doom chances for a Palestinian state Trump and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet during his visitPalestinians had their UN say the day beforeNetanyahu was preceded Thursday by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas who addressed the General Assembly via video since the US denied him a visa He welcomed the announcements of recognition but said the world needs to do more to make statehood happenThe time has come for the international community to do right by the Palestinian people and help them realise their legitimate rights to be rid of the occupation and to not remain a hostage to the temperament of Israeli politics he saidAbbas leads the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority which administers portions of the West Bank Hamas won legislative elections in Gaza in 2006 before seizing control from Abbas forces the following yearIsrael captured the West Bank east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war then withdrew from Gaza in 2005 The Palestinians want all three territories to form their envisioned state part of a twostate solution that the international community has embraced for decadesNetanyahu opposes it robustly maintaining that creating a Palestinian state would reward HamasThis will not happen he said at the airport ThursdayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever