Wednesday, September 24, 2025

TRUMPS FULL TEXT SPEECH AT USELESS FOLD IMMEDIATELY ISRAEL HATING UNITED NATIONS.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

TRUMPS FULL TEXT SPEECH AT USELESS FOLD IMMEDIATELY ISRAEL HATING UNITED NATIONS.

WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.

Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF -  HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

DANIEL 11:40-45 (WW3 BREAKDOWN)
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT-ARAB,DEATH CULT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom,(JORDAN) and Moab,(JORDAN) and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

HERE IS A BREAKDOWN OF WW3
EGYPT-ARAB DEATH CULTS WARS AGAINST ISRAEL.(MAYBE BEFORE THE RAPTURE GOD GIVES ISRAEL THEIR PROMISED LANDS BEFORE THE TRIB PERIOD.BEFORE THE RUSSIA,,ARABS,MUSLIMS GET SLAUGHTERED. 
** THEN RUSSIA AT SOME POINT LEAD THE EGYPTIAN ARAB DEATH CULT AND NORTH AFRICAN DEATH CULT MUSLIMS, GERMANY, IRAN, LIBBY, ETHIOPIA, SUDAN, AGAINST ISRAEL (GOD AND ISRAEL KILL OFF 5/6TH OR 300 MILLION RUSSIAN, EGYPT, ARAB DEATH CULTIST OR 1/4 OF ISLAM IS BIRD FEED OR POPCORN FOR THE ANIMALS AND MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL FOR 7 MONTHS.THEIR BURIED IN THE JORDAN VALLEY.
JOEL 2:20,27-32
20  But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA-MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea,(SIBERIAN DESERT) and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
27  And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
28  And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30  And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
32  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

THE NEXT WAVE AGAINST ISRAEL IS THE KINGS OF THE EAST CHINA, NKOREA, INDIA ETC.WITH RUSSIA AND WHATS LEFT OF THE ARAB,MUSLIM DEATH CULTISTS. ISRAEL NUKES THEM AND 1/3 OF EARTH POPULATION DIE IN THIS WAR.
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

HERES HOW THE KINGS OF THE EAST GO ON DRY LAND TO ISRAEL.TURKEY CAN SHUT 22 DAMS OFF.AND DRY UP THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRAS RIVERS INSTANTLY. SO A 200 MILLION MAN ARMY CAN COME DOWN TO ISRAEL.
Turkey Dries Up the Euphrates-The crisis revolves around the Euphrates River, which quickly became the Euphrates Creek when Turkey completely cut off the water flow upstream of Syria, reported Al Akhbar on May 30. The Euphrates originates in Turkey and passes through the Atatürk Dam before flowing into Syria and Iraq. By cutting off the flow and directing it into the reservoir, Turkey has lowered water levels downstream.Water levels in Lake Assad, Syria’s largest body of water, have dropped by 20 feet since Turkey shut off the water supply. The Euphrates hydrates large parts of Syria.
When did Turkey dam the Euphrates river?
The construction began in 1983 and was completed in 1990. (7 YEARS) (THE FUTURE TRIBULATION IS ALSO 7 YEARS)-The dam and the hydroelectric power plant, which went into service after the upfilling of the reservoir was completed in 1992, are operated by the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). 

THE FINAL BATTLE IS ALL NATIONS COME AGAINST JERUSALEM TO STEAL IT FROM ISRAEL.BUT JESUS RETURNS TO EARTH BODILY, LITERAL TO DESTROY ALL THE WORLD ARMIES.AND RULE FOREVER FROM DAVIDS THRONE IN JERUSALEM.
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

REVELATION 19:15-21
15 And out of his mouth (JESUS) goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war (NOT COMETS KILLING AND COMING) against him (JESUS) that sat on the horse, and against his army.(THE 7 YRS EARLIAR RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (EU WORLD DICTATOR) was taken, and with him the false (VATICAN POPE) prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.(ISRAELS MIGRATION SEASON)

ISAIAH 2:1-4
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

** THIS WAR IS EITHER BEFORE THE TRIB STARTS.OR AT THE MIDPOINT OF THE TRIB I BELIEVE.BECAUSE ISRAELIS GET CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY AS A RESULT.AND AT THE MIDPOINT ISRAELIS ARE PROTECTED BY GOD IN PETRA JORDAN FOR 3 1/2 YEARS.

EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18

HAPPY NEW YEAR AGAIN ISRAEL.GODS CHOSEN PEOPLE THAT WILL BE RULED OVER BY THEIR MESSIAH AND OUR KING JESUS FOREVER, NEVER ENDING SHORTLY.

Hamas reports dozens killed by Israeli fire in Gaza; IDF soldier seriously hurt-Military releases footage showing Hamas terrorists opening fire from Shifa Hospital as Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza City-By Agencies and Emanuel Fabian-Today, 4:33 pm-SEP 24,25

Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency reported that Israeli forces killed dozens of people across the enclave on Wednesday, as the military pressed its offensive in Gaza City, from where hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee.The Israel Defense Forces, meanwhile announced that a soldier in the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit was seriously wounded by gunfire during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and his family has been notified.Israel has launched a major air and ground offensive on Gaza City in a bid to root out Hamas after nearly two years of war sparked by the Palestinian terror group’s October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel.The United Nations estimated at the end of August that around one million people lived in Gaza City and its surroundings, where it said there is a famine, a declaration that Israel has rejected as biased and methodologically flawed.The IDF says roughly 640,000 people have since fled the city and moved southward, while the civil defense agency in its last update from a week put the number at around 450,000.The rate of Palestinians leaving the area has risen in recent days, as the IDF pushes toward the heart of Gaza City.Thaer Saqr, 39, told AFP on Wednesday he had left the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City the day before to head southwards with his wife, children and sister.“The tanks on the coastal road… opened fire on us, and my sister was killed,” he claimed.Saqr said he returned to Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital and “will not leave, even if they kill us all.”“I appeal to the world: help us. I say to Israel: you want us to evacuate, but how can we when we have no shekels, no transportation, and no place?”The civil defense agency said that “hundreds of families” had been sleeping on the ground for days after fleeing from northern Gaza, unable to secure temporary shelter.The IDF on Wednesday revealed that Hamas gunmen opened fire from the Shifa Hospital compound several days ago, sharing footage from the incident.“This use of a civilian structure, especially in an active hospital, constitutes further proof of the cynical and consistent modus operandi of the Hamas terror organization, which turns civilian infrastructure into manned terror headquarters,” the military says.“In doing so, Hamas knowingly endangers the lives of patients, medical staff and innocent residents in the Strip,” it adds.The IDF has raided Shifa Hospital twice since the beginning of the war, during which troops killed hundreds of gunmen, including top commanders in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, detained hundreds of terror suspects, uncovered tunnels and seized numerous weapons.Despite overwhelming evidence, Hamas has denied operating from Shifa and other health facilities.‘Pitiful sight’Hama’s civil defense said Israeli forces killed 40 people in attacks across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including 22 killed by three airstrikes on a warehouse sheltering displaced people near the Firas market in Gaza City.The agency’s spokesman, Mahmud Bassal, said the dead included six women and nine children.The IDF said that the strike targeted two Hamas operatives and that its forces tried to reduce harm to civilians in the area.AFP footage following the attack showed a scene of devastation, with Palestinians combing through large piles of rubble and warped metal as two men carried away a body wrapped in tattered blankets.In the aftermath, sobbing women knelt over their loved ones, hugging their lifeless bodies wrapped in white shrouds.At least six bodies were laid out on the ground, including two the size of children.Mohammed Hajjaj, who lost his relatives, told AFP that “heavy bombing” hit the building while people were asleep.“We came and found children and women torn apart. It was a pitiful sight.”‘Death was near’Israel launched its US-backed ground offensive on Gaza City earlier in September in a bid to seize the urban hub and crush Hamas.The military has told Palestinians to relocate to a “humanitarian area” in the coastal area of al-Mawasi in the south, where it says aid, medical care and humanitarian infrastructure will be provided. Israel has carried out a number of strikes on the area targeting Hamas amid the war, including killing the terrorist organization’s chief military commander and October 7 mastermind Mohammed Deif last year.Mahmud al-Dreimly, 44, said he had gone with his family a day earlier to live in a tent in Gaza City’s Al-Rimal neighborhood.“I saw tanks firing into the air and sometimes at people,” he told AFP, adding: “I felt death was near.”Dreimly said he saw tanks in the Tel al-Hawa and Al-Sabra neighborhoods, as well as on the outskirts of Al-Rimal.The launch of the ground assault came as a UN probe accused Israel of committing “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, a claim that Jerusalem has denounced as “distorted and false.”Since the October 7 terror onslaught, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 65,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 470. The toll includes two police officers and three Defense Ministry civilian contractors.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Palestinians rally in West Bank to celebrate statehood recognition, demand ‘action’Amid wave of recognitions by Western states, Abbas loyalist hails ‘more than a century of resistance and determination by our people’By Chloe Rouveyrolles-Bazire 23 September 2025, 7:51 pm

RAMALLAH (AFP) — Crowds of people rallied in the West Bank on Tuesday, waving flags and holding posters of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas to celebrate the wave of recognition by Western powers of a Palestinian state.Nationalist slogans blared from loudspeakers across the central square in the city of Ramallah, where a crowd of more than 100 clutched Palestinian and European flags alongside signs reading “Stop the genocide.”High-ranking officials from Abbas’s political movement, Fatah, and the Palestinian Authority — which holds limited control in the West Bank — shook hands and smiled.“This recognition is a first step in a process that we hope will continue,” Jibril Rajoub, secretary-general of Fatah’s central committee, told AFP.“It is the result of more than a century of resistance and determination by our people.”Rajoub said he had felt moved listening to the speeches made at the UN General Assembly in New York the night before. “We must learn from the past and unite the people,” he said.Maysoon Mahmud, 39, who is also a Fatah member, said: “We came here today to thank the countries that have recognized Palestine, but also to ask them to continue to support us in stopping the war.”“It is time for the world to take responsibility,” she added.Further north in Tulkarem, dozens more gathered, holding the flags of countries that now recognize a Palestinian state.A majority of European powers now recognize a Palestinian state, following official declarations on Monday by France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta and others, after nearly two years of war in Gaza sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and massacre in southern Israel, and soaring violence in the West Bank.A day earlier, Britain, Australia, Canada and Portugal also took the step.‘We want action’ But many Palestinians interviewed by AFP expressed ambivalence at the move due to the bitter reality of the situation on the ground.Roula Ghaneb, an academic from Tulkarem, stood impassively in the middle of the Ramallah rally, holding a photo of her 20-year-old son, Yazan.“He was arrested at our home eight months ago,” she said, adding that he was being held in poor conditions.Ghaneb said she wanted an end to all violence, insisting: “We don’t want words, we want action.”Jamila Abdul, a resident of a village between Jerusalem and Ramallah, charged: “Palestine is being exterminated today in Gaza and the West Bank in various ways.”Hardline Israeli government ministers have made little secret of their desire to annex the West Bank, which Israel has controlled since capturing it from Jordan 1967, and where Israeli settlements are expanding.The diplomatic push also comes as Israel is intensifying its military offensive in Gaza City, after nearly two years of war triggered by Hamas’s deadly attack.“If they want to recognize something, they must recognize the genocide that is taking place today, put an end to these atrocities and punish Israel for these crimes,” said Abdul.Israel firmly denies allegations that it is carrying out genocide in Gaza. It has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities as it battles to destroy Hamas, and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.Related: Gaza genocide claims are based on skewed facts, sometimes deliberately, says study author“If we had wanted to commit genocide, it would have taken exactly one afternoon,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month.

West Bank Palestinians shrug off France’s statehood recognition: ‘What will this bring us?’Some welcome Macron’s decision to recognize Palestinian state while urging ‘additional steps’ such as ending Israel-Hamas war in Gaza By AFP and ToI Staff 23 September 2025, 6:48 am

Despite widespread global anticipation of France’s recognition of a Palestinian state, residents of the Israeli-controlled West Bank felt the move would have little tangible effect on their daily lives.In the streets of Ramallah — seat of the Palestinian Authority — screens were not showing the UN gathering where French President Emmanuel Macron announced the recognition, and most said they would not tune in to watch it.“Of course (recognition) is a good thing, but even if the whole world recognizes it, Palestine’s situation will not improve,” said Zain Abdel Wahab, 18, on a quiet shopping street in Ramallah.“The war on Gaza has lasted two years. What will this recognition bring us? Will the war end? No, it will continue,” he said, adding that economic conditions in the West Bank were deteriorating.Many Palestinians expressed disinterest in the wave of countries recognizing their state.Rasha, a 37-year-old who gave only her first name, said she did not care about the move. “The West… is making a big deal out of it, but it does not make any difference for Palestinians, it does not make any change in our daily life.”“It’s too risky (to go to Jenin) because of all the settlers that are attacking us, and… there are too many checkpoints now,” she continued.“So much for their Palestinian state that they are recognizing.”‘Somebody cares’Following the move by Britain, Canada and Australia to recognize the Palestinian state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to expand settlements in the West Bank, adding that no such state would exist.The move by the Western leaders, moreover, comes as Israel presses a new offensive in Gaza City against Hamas, whose October 7, 2023, terror attack against Israel started the nearly two-year-long war that has devastated most of the Gaza Strip.For some, recognition of a state of their own was a positive step, but it still fell short.“We are happy with this recognition, but we want additional steps from the countries that recognized the state of Palestine,” said Ibrahim Salam Abdullah, 18.“We want the countries that recognized the state of Palestine and gave us their love to work on improving the situation in the West Bank, ending the war in our beloved Gaza Strip, and ending the famine that is afflicting the children and all of our people in Gaza.”At a cafe in downtown Ramallah, men smoked and clapped occasionally during Macron’s speech, with some praising him for addressing equality between Israelis and Palestinians.Abu Elias, 63, who was watching the speech, said he was optimistic but felt nothing would change in the short term.“You don’t go to the moon in one day,” he said, adding, “nothing has been happening for 80 years and now I have a feeling something good for Palestinians will happen.”Bisan, a 25-year-old architecture student, admitted she didn’t really understand what the recognition would mean.“I don’t understand what this recognition entails, and I don’t know what to think about it because I don’t know what is the future of a Palestinian state,” she said.“I don’t know what the European countries mean when they say they want to recognize Palestine.“We don’t see the reality of it. But I think for my parents, it’s important, it makes them feel that somebody cares.”

Stress importance of unifying Gaza, West Bank under the PA'France, Saudi Arabia in warning to Israel: ‘Any form of annexation is a red line’Nations call for end to settlement activity and settler violence; Israeli official: US privately cautioned against annexation, but PM will discuss matter with Trump in Washington By ToI Staff and Jacob Magid-23 September 2025, 3:08 pm

Saudi Arabia and France warned Israel on Monday against “any form of annexation” as potential retaliation for Western countries’ recognition of Palestinian statehood, saying it would be a “red line.”A joint statement from the two nations after a UN summit they co-hosted aimed at promoting a two-state solution said they “urge the Israeli leadership to seize this opportunity for peace, and to issue a clear public commitment to the two-state solution.”The two nations also called for an end to all settlement activities and settler violence.“We reiterate that any form of annexation is a red line for the international community that bears serious consequences and constitutes a direct risk to existing and future peace agreements,” the statement said.The UN gathering demonstrated overwhelming international support for the Palestinian cause and the unprecedented state of isolation that Israel finds itself less than two years after Hamas’s October 7 attack, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.“It is now time for the international community to move from words to deeds,” the statement read, welcoming the recognition of a Palestinian state in recent days by a number of Western countries.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the recognitions as well as the notion of Palestinian statehood, and vowed to respond upon his return from the UN. Some government ministers are pushing Israel to annex part of the West Bank in response to the wave of recognitions.France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, San Marino and Andorra issued statements on their recognition of a Palestinian state at the conference. The UK, Australia, Canada and Portugal made their own announcements recognizing Palestine a day earlier.Both the US and Israel have argued that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time amounts to a reward for Hamas following the October 7 attack, which won’t advance efforts to release the 48 remaining hostages and end the war in Gaza, and which could well harm those goals.The warning against annexation was just the latest from the international community — with the message being sent to Netanyahu’s government both in public and in private.A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the Trump administration has privately cautioned Israel against annexing the West Bank in response to the recognition decisions.However, Jerusalem does not feel that the warning marked “an end to the discussion” and Netanyahu plans to discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump during their White House meeting next Monday, the Israeli official said.To date, the Trump administration has avoided taking a public stance regarding potential Israeli annexation of the West Bank and has argued that Western countries are to blame for Jerusalem considering the step due to their decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood.British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Monday that the British government has warned Israel not to annex parts of the West Bank in retaliation.Cooper added that the UK had a moral obligation to keep the two-state solution alive even as “extremists on all sides” wanted it dead.“Just as we recognize Israel, the State of Israel…so we must also recognize the rights of the Palestinians to a state of their own as well,” she said.A spokesperson for the German government, which has held off on recognizing a Palestinian state, also said in a statement that there must be no further annexation of Palestinian territories by Israel.Israel has controlled the West Bank since the Six Day War of June 1967, and its settlements there are considered illegal by most countries.Saudi Arabia, with which Israel has sought to normalize relations, has reportedly warned that annexation of the West Bank would have “major implications.” The UAE, with which Israel has relations, has also called annexation a “red line.”‘Importance of unifying Gaza, West Bank under the PA’In their Monday statement, Riyadh and Paris also declared that “ending the war in Gaza and ensuring the release of all hostages” was their “absolute priority.”“The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate with the intensification of the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza City, and with civilians and hostages paying an unjustifiable price due to the ongoing war,” read the statement.“We call for a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, exchange of prisoners, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza,” the statement read.The two nations also said they committed to supporting a “temporary international stabilization mission upon invitation by the Palestinian Authority” and to increasing their training commitments for Palestinian security forces.The Times of Israel revealed the French proposal for a stabilization force on Monday.“We stress the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” the statement read. “In the context of ending the war in Gaza, we reiterate that Hamas must end its rule in Gaza, disarm and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign Palestinian State.”“We commend the historic commitments made by [Palestinian Authority] President Mahmoud Abbas including to the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, the continued rejection of violence and terrorism, and his statement that the Palestinian State has no intention to be a militarized State and is ready to work on security arrangements beneficial to all parties, in full respect of its sovereignty,” the statement read, adding that it welcomed reforms undertaken by the PA including the scrapping of the pay-to-slay system, reforms within the education system and a commitment to hold free elections within a year of a ceasefire.Saudi Arabia and France also declared that Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weaponry to the Palestinian Authority, with international support.

Macron conditions opening of embassy on hostages' release-France leads group of European nations recognizing Palestinian state at UN summit-Macron and others recognize Palestine in defiance of US and Israel, which says two-state solution ‘off the table’ after Oct. 7; Abbas insists PA prepared to govern future state-By Jacob Magid-23 September 2025, 2:58 am

French President Emanuel Macron on Monday formally announced Paris’s recognition of a Palestinian state during a UN conference his country co-hosted with Saudi Arabia, which also saw Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas make the case that his government is prepared to lead that future state in both the West Bank and Gaza.Macron was joined by the leaders of Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, San Marino and Andorra who issued similar announcements at the conference aimed at promoting a two-state solution. The UK, Australia, Canada and Portugal made their own announcements recognizing Palestine a day earlier.The gathering demonstrated overwhelming international support for the Palestinian cause and the unprecedented state of isolation that Israel finds itself in less than two years after Hamas’s October 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages abducted.The United States joined Jerusalem in boycotting the conference, the only major world power still in Israel’s corner as the Gaza war drags on and as the death toll crosses 65,000, according to unverified figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.Both the US and Israel have argued that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time amounts to a reward for Hamas that won’t advance efforts to release the 48 remaining hostages and end the war in Gaza, but could well harm those goals.But Macron insisted in the opening speech of the Monday conference that recognition advances the cause of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.He began his speech by first calling for the immediate release of the hostages, followed by an immediate ceasefire.Macron argued that “breaking the cycle [of violence] lies in the recognition of the other,” insisting that the time had come for the move.He acknowledged that Hamas’s October 7 attack is an “open wound for Israelis” and “our universal conscience,” reiterating Paris’s unequivocal condemnation of the onslaught.Macron said France will never forget the victims and never stop fighting against antisemitism.But while Israel has made important military gains against Hamas in the war that ensued, he asserted Jerusalem’s response has gone too far.“Nothing justifies the ongoing war in Gaza. Nothing,” he said. “On the contrary, everything compels us to end it immediately.”He highlighted the “atrocious conditions of the hostages,” saying that he held the families of captives Evyatar David and Nimrod Cohen in his arms.But “a life is a life,” he stated, citing his meetings earlier this year on the Egyptian-Gaza border with Palestinian civilians wounded by Israeli strikes.Macron argued that the international community bears “collective responsibility” for the lack of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.“Worst could still come to pass,” he said, warning of potential Israeli expulsion of Palestinians to Egypt, the death of hostages and Israeli annexation of the West Bank.“We have reason to believe” that the Abraham Accords and the Camp David Accords could be at risk of collapse due to Israeli actions, Macron added, referring respectively to a series of 2020 normalization agreements between Israel and Gulf states and the 1970s peace treaty that Israel and Cairo signed.Several weeks ago, a top Emirati official told The Times of Israel that Israeli annexation of the West Bank would be a red line for Abu Dhabi that would “end” regional integration. Saudi officials have also reportedly warned of significant consequences from annexation.“We must do everything possible to preserve a two-state solution,” Macron said.“This is why I declare today that France recognizes the state of Palestine,” he added to thunderous applause in the UN General Assembly hall.“Recognition takes nothing away from the rights of Israel,” he asserted, claiming the move marked a “defeat of Hamas” and those who harbor “anti-Zionist obsessions.”Conditioning embassy opening on hostages’ release-Macron laid out some details of the peace plan France is advancing in parallel to its recognition of a Palestinian state.He urged Israel not to take further actions that thwart the effort and stressed that it will include the dismantlement of Hamas.He said an International Stabilization Force (ISF) will assist in that effort and in preparing the Palestinian Authority to take over governance in the Gaza Strip. The Times of Israel revealed the proposal earlier Monday.France stands ready to contribute to the ISF and to support allies in training PA forces, Macron said, adding that the international mission could be deployed immediately through a UN Security Council resolution and with the consent of Israel.Turning to his expectations of the PA, Macron said, “It’ll be up to the State of Palestine to give hope to its people,” recalling Abbas’s June letter to France and Saudi Arabia in which the PA leader committed to implementing far-reaching reforms aimed — among other things — at promoting democratic expression.He recalled that Abbas condemned Hamas’s October 7 attack in the June letter, which paved the way to Paris’s recognition of Palestine.Those commitments included the disarmament of Hamas, excluding the terror group from future governance, combating hate speech and implementing an in-depth overhaul of Palestinian governance.France will pay close attention to the full implementation of these commitments, Macron said.Critically, Macron revealed that he will hold off on opening a French embassy until after the hostages are released and a ceasefire in Gaza has been reached.Western countries faced pressure in recent weeks from some opponents of the recognition move to at least condition the step on the release of the hostages. While Macron sufficed with conditioning the opening of an embassy to a hostage deal, Belgium went further, saying it wouldn’t take any formal steps on recognition until the captives are released and Hamas is removed from power.As for Israel, Macron said that France will condition its cooperation with Jerusalem on the steps the latter takes to end the war and advance peace.“We expect our Arab partners to engage with Israel and normalize with Israel as soon as the State of Palestine has been established,” he added.“The time has come to no longer talk about the existence of Israel. It is self-evident. The time has come to do justice for the Palestinian people and thus to recognize the State of Palestine in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem,” Macron declared.Abbas claims PA reforming, fudges election promise-Speaking shortly after Macron, Abbas reiterated his condemnation of Hamas’s October 7 attack, along with his calls for the terror group to release all remaining hostages, disarm and step down from power in Gaza.Abbas addressed the session virtually after the US issued widespread visa bans against the PA’s leadership in retaliation for the Western plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the conference.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hit out at the “disappointing” US decision during his speech at the conference.Expressing his support for the conference’s goal, Guterres asserted, “Statehood for Palestinians is a right, not a reward.”Abbas proceeded to lay out the steps the PA is taking to reform so that it is better prepared to govern Gaza after the war is over.The “comprehensive reform agenda” will promote good governance, transparency, the rule of law and see reforms of the PA’s financial system and education systems. The latter reform will be in line with UNESCO standards and be achieved within two years, Abbas stated.He went on to confirm The Times of Israel’s reporting on the PA’s reform of its controversial welfare system, which critics dubbed “pay-to-slay” as it rewarded prisoners based on the length of their sentence.“We’re establishing a unified social welfare system after the abolition of all previous payments to the families of prisoners and martyrs. This system is currently undergoing an international audit by a specialized international firm,” Abbas said.The PA president committed to holding elections under international observation within one year of the war’s end.In his June letter to Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, though, he committed to holding elections within a year, without conditioning the vote on an end to the Gaza war.Abbas also pledged Monday to draft an “interim constitution” within three months to ensure that all parties participating in elections adhere to the Palestine Liberation Organization’s charter, which includes recognition of Israel.He said Ramallah’s goal is to establish a democratic state based on the rule of law, pluralism, power-sharing, equality, justice and empowerment of women and youth.Abbas made an effort to appeal directly to Israelis and Jews around the world, noting that the PA already recognized Israel’s right to exist in 1988 and 1993 and continues to do so today.“We reject any confusion — I repeat, any confusion — between solidarity with the Palestinian cause and the issue of antisemitism. We reject the latter proceeding from our values and principles,” Abbas said.“I address the Israeli people, saying our future and yours banks on peace. Enough violence and war. Our generations deserve to enjoy freedom and security. Let the people of our region live in durable peace and good neighborliness,” he continued, calling on Israel’s leaders to join him at the negotiating table to “put an end to this bloodshed and bring about just and comprehensive peace.”“I’d like to take this opportunity to address all Jews around the world, wishing them a shana tovah,” Abbas said, offering Rosh Hashanah greetings in Hebrew.“And to our patient Palestinian people,” he concluded. “The dawn of freedom and liberty is undoubtedly coming.Indonesia reiterates offer on peacekeeping force-While Saudi Arabia co-hosted the conference, its de facto ruler didn’t end up sending a video statement as was initially anticipated.Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan gave a brief speech that largely regurgitated Riyadh’s talking points, calling for a two-state solution and criticizing Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank.Farhan went on to urge all countries to join the Western states recognizing Palestine, as the possibility of Riyadh normalizing ties with Israel appeared particularly distant.More notable speeches came from the leaders of Belgium, Indonesia and Egypt.Belgium Prime Minister Bart De Wever followed through on his country’s earlier pledge only to recognize a Palestinian state once the hostages have been released and Hamas is removed from power in Gaza.“The recent declarations of a number of Israeli ministers, including the prime minister himself, that no state of Palestine will ever exist, are an additional reason for reaffirming the right and the need of the Palestinians to have their own state,” De Wever said in his address to the confab.“Therefore, Belgium is giving out a strong political and diplomatic signal to the world today by joining the group of countries that announce the recognition of the State of Palestine in the margins of this high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly,” he continued.“However, this step cannot be a reward for Hamas,” he clarified. “Conscious of the trauma suffered after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, Belgium will proceed to the legal recognition of the State of Palestine once all hostages have been released and all terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, have been removed from the governance of Palestine.”Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto reiterated his country’s offer to provide peacekeeping forces to help stabilize Gaza after the war during his remarks at the UN General Assembly’s two-state solution conference.Subianto first made the offer last year, with Indonesia remaining the only country to publicly do so.Arab countries are also said to be willing to contribute troops to a post-war international force in Gaza, but they have yet to go public with that stance and have conditioned their participation on a role for the Palestinian Authority, which Israel rejects.Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that his country will host a Gaza reconstruction conference as soon as a ceasefire has been reached in the devastated territory.“Egypt will, as soon as we reach a ceasefire, host an international reconstruction conference on the Gaza Strip to mobilize the necessary funding for the Arab-Islamic reconstruction plan,” he said.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, called for a state of Palestine to be admitted to the United Nations after a French-led summit on recognition.“This conference marks a milestone, but it’s not the end of the road. It’s only the beginning,” Sanchez said. “The state of Palestine must be a member.”Israel says two states ‘off the table’-Absent from the conference, which was held on the eve of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, were Israeli and US delegations.Speaking to reporters outside the UN General Assembly shortly before the start of the event, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said Jerusalem opposes the two-state solution framework that the conference was seeking to salvage.“Before October 7, there was a debate about that in Israel. After October 7, it’s off the table,” Danon said. “Now we are focused on bringing [back] the hostages, on defeating Hamas.”“When the day will come that there will be a general Palestinian leadership that will condemn terrorism… we will speak with the Palestinians,” he added.“We have to be honest that there is no partner on the other side.”“We are a peaceful nation. We signed multiple peace accords and hopefully, we will sign more accords in the near future,” Danon said.“This [conference] is a show, but what we are doing on the ground — that’s for real,” the Israeli envoy continued, referencing Israel’s escalating offensive to conquer Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are still sheltering.Danon called the Western recognition of a Palestinian state a “unilateral action” that will provoke an Israeli response, which Netanyahu will announce in the coming days.US pans reward for Hamas-For its part, the White House reiterated its opposition to the decisions by Western nations to recognize a Palestinian state on Monday.“The president has been very clear. He disagrees with this decision. He spoke about that in the UK, standing right next to his friend, Prime Minister Starmer,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing in Washington.“He feels this does not do anything to release the hostages, which is the primary goal right now in Gaza; it does nothing to end this war to a close,” Leavitt added.“Frankly, he believes it’s a reward to Hamas. He believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies,” she continued. “You’ll hear him talk about that tomorrow at the UN.”

UN General Assembly-Hostage families vow to follow Netanyahu to UN-Qatar, Jordan denounce Netanyahu as warmonger, regional threat; Indonesia says ‘Shalom’‘They visit our country and plot to attack it,’ wails emir, as Abdullah warns ‘Greater Israel’ would involve ‘blatant violation of the sovereignty’ of Israel’s neighbors; Indonesian leader says Israel’s security must be respected-By ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 12:01 am-SEP 24,25

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said Tuesday that Israel had chosen war over the return of its remaining 48 hostages, and that its “treacherous” September 9 attack on the Hamas leadership in Doha was an attempt to derail the Qatari-mediated Gaza hostage-ceasefire talks.In his address to the UN General Assembly in New York, al-Thani accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees the Gaza war as “an opportunity to expand settlements.”UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the leaders of Jordan and Turkey also condemned Israel over its conduct in Gaza, with Jordan’s King Abdullah devoting almost his entire address to a denunciation of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he said was not a partner for peace and whose “Greater Israel” calls threatened the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Israel’s neighbors.In sharp contrast, the president of Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim nation, which has no formal relations with Israel — said the world must respect Israel’s right to security and ended his speech with the Hebrew benediction “Shalom.”Some of al-Thani’s criticism of Netanyahu was echoed by hostage families, who vowed to follow Netanyahu this week to the General Assembly, where the prime minister is set to speak on Friday, in protest of the new IDF operation to take over Gaza City.Hostage families have said the operation, whose ground phase was launched last week, places their loved ones’ lives in acute danger. They have also assailed the strike on Doha for scuttling the hostage-ceasefire negotiations, which have stalled since then.Addressing the strike, Qatar’s emir slammed the violation of the Gulf state’s sovereignty and reiterated his denunciation of Israel’s “rogue act … of state terrorism,” accusing Israel of a policy of political assassinations.“They visit our country and plot to attack it,” al-Thani said of Israel, which has frequently sent negotiators to Doha. “They negotiate with delegations and plot to assassinate the members of the negotiation teams. It is difficult to cooperate with such a mentality that does not respect the most minimal standards of cooperation. It is impossible.”“They consider negotiations the continuation of war by other means and a way to delude the Israeli public opinion,” he went on. “If the release of Israeli hostages is [contingent on] the end of war, the government of Israel is abandoning the notion of releasing the hostages,” said al-Thani.The Israeli government’s “goal is to destroy Gaza so that it is unlivable and where no one can study or receive treatment,” he said. Israel is, in other words, aiming to “end the viability of the Gaza Strip, to displace its population.”Referring to Netanyahu, al-Thani said: “The Israeli leader wants to continue war. He believes in what is called Greater Israel.”Al-Thani said Netanyahu “believes that war is an opportunity to expand settlements and to change the status quo in the holy sites” on the Temple Mount, a flash point that was the site of the two Jewish temples of antiquity and is now the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site. “He also plots for attacks in the West Bank,” said the Qatari emir.“Israel is not a democratic country surrounded by enemies, but in fact it is an enemy to its surrounding neighbors,” al-Thani said.Amid a wave, applauded by al-Thani and decried by Israel, of recognitions of Palestinian statehood by Western nations, the emir noted that Netanyahu has vowed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. The emir also accused Israel of genocide, a charge Israel has bitterly rejected.Israel is “engaged in a genocide, and its leader is proud of preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, and he promises that such a state will never be established, and he takes pride in preventing peace with the Palestinians, and that he will prevent such peace in the future,” said al-Thani, accusing Israel of stonewalling on peace with its Arab neighbors.“Israel is surrounded by states either who have signed a peace agreement with it, or are committed to the Arab Peace Initiative. But Israel does not make do with truces and settlements. It desires to impose its will on its surrounding Arab neighbors,” he said. “Everyone who opposes its will is either antisemitic or a terrorist. Even Israel’s allies realize this fact and reject it.”He said Qatar would continue to engage in diplomacy even when its enemies “find it easier to use weapons,” and denounced what he said were disinformation campaigns against his country, which Israel has repeatedly accused of support for terrorism, due to its funding of Al Jazeera and its hosting of Hamas leaders.Qatar, with Netanyahu’s approval, had for years delivered millions of dollars in cash to Gaza on a monthly basis until the terror group stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.The money was intended for government salaries in the Hamas-run Strip, and has been seized upon by Netanyahu’s critics to blame him for the Hamas onslaught.Current and former top aides to Netanyahu are also under investigation for alleged criminal ties to Qatar.Hostage families to follow PM to General Assembly-Netanyahu is expected to depart for the UN on Wednesday night, after the end of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which began Monday night.Hostage families and hundreds of supporters have rallied outside his Jerusalem residence throughout the holiday, holding meals and prayers there.In a statement outside Netanyahu’s residence on Tuesday, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said hostage families will follow the premier on his upcoming trip.“We will also go to the US while he is staying there,” Zangauker said, referring to Netanyahu’s trip, which is also set to include a meeting with US President Donald Trump next week.“A week ago, Netanyahu gave instructions to occupy Gaza City, blow up the living hostages and make the dead disappear forever,” Zangauker said, adding that the families of hostages could not remain at home while their loved ones were in danger.“For a week, we shouted the cry of our children from the tunnels. But instead of leaving the house and reaching out, Netanyahu sealed his heart and closed his windows,” said Zangauker. Attempts to silence the families have failed, she added.Erdogan: Netanyahu uninterested in peace or hostages-Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also slammed Israel’s war against Hamas as a “genocide” during his speech at the UN General Assembly, showing images of the destruction in Gaza during his address.“A genocide is continuing in Gaza; even as we meet here, innocent people are dying,” said Erdogan. “We cannot possibly talk about the presence of two sides in Gaza, because in Gaza, on one side, there is a regular army with the most modern, most lethal weapons, and on the other hand, there are innocent civilians, innocent children. This is not a fight against terrorism. This is an occupation, deportation, exile, genocide, and destruction of life.”He also condemned Israel’s actions in the West Bank, “where Hamas is not in power,” as well as the strike in Doha and “attacks on Syria, on Iran, Yemen and Lebanon.”“Netanyahu is obviously not interested in forging peace or releasing the hostages. Not only Israel’s neighbors, but all countries in the Middle East are subject to the Israeli government’s reckless threats,” he said.Israel’s actions threaten “the values that emerged after the Second World War” and were responsible for the shelving of “fundamental human rights” around the world, said Erdogan.Jordan: Gaza war ‘one of the darkest moments’ in UN history-Jordan’s King Abdullah II, in a relentless denunciation of Netanyahu and Israel’s leadership, said in his speech that the war in Gaza was “one of the darkest moments in this institution’s history.”“How long will we be satisfied with condemnation after condemnation without concrete action? When it comes to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it seems that what unfolds in the halls of power is theory; the struggles and suffering on the ground are reality,” he said, commending nations for supporting a deal that “ensures the release of all hostages, unhindered humanitarian aid and support for the Palestinian people as they rebuild.”Abdullah also said interim deals between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which dominates the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, have “served as a distraction, as Israel grabbed more land, expanded illegal settlements, demolished homes, and displaced entire neighborhoods.“Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem have been vandalized and desecrated by those under government protection,” charged the king, whose country holds a custodianship over Christian and Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount.“And throughout all these years, Israeli families too have not been able to live in true security because military action cannot bring the safety they need. Nowhere is that more evident than in Gaza,” he said.“More than 60,000 Palestinians killed, 50,000 children injured or killed, miles of burnt-out rubble. Neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, farms, even mosques and churches in ruins, widespread starvation. And what we are seeing is only a glimpse because never in our modern history has the lenses of international media been obstructed like this from capturing the reality on the ground,” said Abdullah.The figures he cited come from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry and cannot be independently verified. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed some 22,000 gunmen as of August as well as about 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.Like the Qatari emir, Abdullah accused Israel of flouting the status quo at the Temple Mount, and referred to Greater Israel, a concept that has been used to describe a Jewish state spanning all or some of Jordan, the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula.“The current Israeli government’s provocative call for a so-called Greater Israel can only be realized through the blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors. And there is nothing great about that,” he said. “I can’t help but wonder if a similar outrageous call were made by an Arab leader, would it be met with the same global apathy?”“The international community must stop entertaining the illusion that this government is a willing partner for peace. Far from it. Its actions on the ground are dismantling the very foundations on which peace could stand and intentionally burying the very idea of a Palestinian state,” said Abdullah.“Its hostile rhetoric calling for the targeting of Al-Aqsa Mosque will incite a religious war that would reach far beyond the region and lead to an all-out clash that no nation will be able to escape,” he added.Since first receiving the national security portfolio in 2022, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has continuously asserted that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer atop the Temple Mount, flouting the status quo, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has insisted remains in place.Guterres: Gaza horrors approaching ‘monstrous’ 3rd year-Opening the General Assembly earlier Tuesday, Guterres, the UN chief, said “the horrors are approaching a third monstrous year” in Gaza, where he accused Israel of carrying out disproportionate “collective punishment.”“They are the result of decisions that defy basic humanity,” he said, citing “a scale of death and destruction beyond any other conflict” in his nearly nine years as secretary-general.Guterres reiterated his condemnation of the October 7 massacre and hostage-taking, but said “nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people and the systematic destruction of Gaza.”Guterres called for the full and immediate implementation of international law, a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and humanitarian access.  “And we must not relent in the only viable answer to sustainable Middle East peace: a two-state solution,” he said.Indonesia’s Subianto calls for ‘Shalom’-In contrast to the wave of condemnatory rhetoric, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto told the UN that his country “will immediately recognize that State of Israel” once Israel recognizes a Palestinian state.“We must also recognize, we must also respect, and we must also guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then we can have real peace,” Subianto said in his speech, which he ended with the word “Shalom,” Hebrew for peace.Though Indonesia has no formal relations with Israel, it has coordinated with Israel on airdropping aid in Gaza and was last year said to be mulling normalizing relations with Israel as part of a bid to join the OECD.Subianto had reiterated on Monday at a UN summit on the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that Indonesia would be prepared to send troops to a post-war peacekeeping mission in Gaza.He doubled down on the offer at the General Assembly on Tuesday, saying Indonesia wants a peace that shows “might cannot make right.”“We believe in the UN. We will continue to serve where peace needs guardians — not with just words, but with boots on the ground,” he said.“If and when the UN Security Council and this great assembly decide, Indonesia is prepared to deploy 20,000 or even more of our sons and daughters to help secure peace in Gaza,” he states.He said Indonesia was also willing to send peacekeepers elsewhere, including in Ukraine, Sudan, or Libya.

Italy warns Israel to safeguard Gaza flotilla after drone attacks, sends warship for rescue-Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists on 51 boats sailing near Greek island of Crete harassed by drones overnight, apparently dropping stun grenades and jamming communications By Agencies Today, 2:57 pm-SEP 24,25

Italy on Wednesday told Israel to ensure the safety of participants in the Gaza-bound flotilla, after organizers said several of their boats had been targeted by multiple drones off Greece and said it was sending a warship to provide the pro-Palestinian activists with assistance.Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said there were “Italian citizens, along with members of parliament and MEPs” among the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activists in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which reported hearing more than a dozen nearby explosions as it sailed off Greece late Tuesday.It also reported damage caused by “unidentified objects” dropped on deck.“To ensure their safety, the foreign ministry had already notified Israeli authorities that any operation entrusted to Israeli forces must be conducted in compliance with international law and the principle of absolute caution,” the ministry said in a statement.“Minister Tajani has asked the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to gather information and to reiterate its previous request to the Israeli government to guarantee the absolute protection of the personnel on board,” it said.Tajani said at the time that 58 Italians were participating in the flotilla, including some lawmakers.Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto activated a navy frigate to be on hand for possible rescue operations.Crosetto said the Italian Navy’s frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete, was “already heading towards the area for possible rescue operations.” Italy has informed Israel about the decision.“In a democracy, demonstrations and forms of protest must also be protected when they are carried out in accordance with international law and without resorting to violence,” Crosetto said.The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Barcelona earlier this month with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza and delivering symbolic aid to the territory.It currently numbers 51 vessels, most of which are off the Greek island of Crete.Vessels waiting to join the flotilla had already been targeted in two suspected drone attacks in Tunisia. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those who boarded in the North African nation.Thunberg on Wednesday called the strikes a “scare tactic” and implored the flotilla’s supporters to stay focused on Gaza rather than on the activists sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. She said that damage to the fleet was being assessed.“We were aware of the risks of these kinds of attacks and that’s not something that’s going to stop us,” Thunberg said on a livestream on Wednesday morning.“The most important thing isn’t that we were hit by drones. Drones are something that Palestinians experience 24-7,” she added.Simone Zambrin, an Italian activist with the flotilla, said that drones “have been flying over our heads for days now” and on Wednesday “dropped devices at our boats, damaging both the sails and the hearing of some of our crew members.”“We expected it because it is a rhetoric that is part of what Israel is trying to do with regard to missions like ours,” Zambrin said. “It tries to instill fear because it is afraid of our arrival.”Greg Stoker, an American activist on board one of the boats, said in a social media post that the vessel’s VHF radio communications also suffered interference, with the jammers playing an ABBA song over the VHF channel the flotilla was using.Israel blocked two previous attempts by activists to reach Gaza by sea in June and July.Israel said Monday it would not allow the boats to reach Gaza, accusing the flotilla of serving the Hamas terror group. It said the flotilla could offload the aid in Ashkelon, from where it would be transferred to Gaza.However, Israel insists that it will not be allowed to breach the naval blockade, which it imposed in 2007 in a bid to stop the import of weapons after Hamas overthrew the Palestinian Authority and took control of Gaza.Israel has come under huge international pressure over its war in Gaza, which was sparked by the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage.The war has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis in the Strip, with most of the population displaced.

PM's office doesn't say whether it's a response to Palestine recognitions-Israel closes border crossing between West Bank and Jordan until further notice-Crossing was closed immediately after last week’s attack killed 2 IDF soldiers, but had reopened intermittently; reimposed closure reportedly ordered by Netanyahu-By ToI Staff 23 September 2025, 5:55 pm

Israel said Tuesday that it would close the Allenby Crossing between Jordan and the West Bank “until further notice,” stranding most Palestinians for whom the gate is their only way out of the territory.The crossing had originally closed Friday, a day after two Israeli soldiers were killed there in a stabbing and shooting attack by a Jordanian man hired to drive humanitarian aid to Gaza. The crossing has since reopened intermittently but remained closed to Gaza-bound aid.The Israel Airports Authority, which oversees the crossing, said the entry and exit point will be closed as a result of a directive from the political echelon.Nazmi Muhanna, head of the Palestinian Crossing and Borders Authority, told the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Wafa, that Israel informed them the crossing will be closed from tomorrow morning until further notice.Army Radio reported that security officials received instructions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to close the border in both directions.The outlet said it asked the Prime Minister’s Office if the decision to close the border crossing was linked to the wave of international recognitions of a Palestinian state, but did not receive a response.Jordan had on Sunday reopened the crossing to pedestrian traffic — not cargo — but Israel abruptly closed the crossing hours later.The crossing reopened on Monday, but closed again ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which began Monday night and will last until Wednesday night. The crossing, which is the West Bank’s only land crossing with Jordan, had been expected to reopen after the holiday.While it had reopened to passengers, the Allenby Crossing has remained closed to humanitarian aid shipments en route to the Gaza Strip until the investigation into the killing at the border point is completed and the inspection procedures for Jordanian drivers are updated.

Pezeshkian vows Iran will ‘never bow before aggressors’ as snapback sanctions loom-At UN, Lebanese president demands end to ‘Israeli aggression’; Spain’s king claims kinship with Jews his country expelled in Inquisition while berating Israel over Gaza ‘massacre’By ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 9:09 pm-SEP 24,25

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed Wednesday to “never bow before aggressors,” as his country faces snapback sanctions over its nuclear program and is still reeling from Israeli and US bombings during the 12-day war in June.Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Pezeshkian denied Tehran was seeking nuclear arms, and he slammed “the Zionist regime” over the war in Gaza, as did leaders from Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco and Spain.Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, meanwhile, demanded that Israel cease its strikes and military presence in his country, while Spain’s King Felipe VI claimed pride in the legacy of the Jews his country banished in 1492 as he accused Israeli forces of atrocities in Gaza.Pezeshkian, in his speech, denounced the “aerial assaults of the Zionist regime and the United States of America against Iran’s cities, homes and infrastructures precisely at a time when we were treading the path of diplomatic negotiations.”It “constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy and a subversion of efforts towards the establishment of stability and peace,” he said. “This brazen act of aggression, in addition to monitoring a number of commanders, citizens, children, women, scientists and intellectual elites of my country, inflicted a grievous blow upon international trust and the very prospect of peace in the region. Should we fail to confront such perilous breaches of international norms?”Pezeshkian’s address to the high-level forum in New York was his first appearance there since the June war, which began with a surprise Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear program, missile production facilities and military leadership. Iran responded with drone attacks and deadly missile launches.The war, which abruptly ended weeks-long US-Iran nuclear talks, ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on June 24, two days after the US struck three key Iranian nuclear sites.Iran’s leaders are publicly sworn to destroy Israel and back a so-called Axis of Resistance regional network of anti-Israel proxies, including Gaza’s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Israel has said its June 13 strike on Iran came after the Islamic Republic had taken imminent steps toward nuclear weaponization.While Iran publicly denies seeking nuclear arms, it has enriched uranium to a level far beyond what is needed for civilian use and a short step away from weapons-grade. The US had demanded in the nuclear talks that Iran give up its enrichment capacities altogether — a demand Tehran rejected.Speaking at the UN, Pezeshkian said the Islamic Republic was religiously barred from procuring nuclear arms.“We do not seek nuclear weapons. This is our belief, based on the edict issued by the supreme leader and by religious authorities,” he said.Iran had been subject to harsh UN sanctions over its nuclear program until a landmark 2015 deal between Iran and world powers.The US withdrew from the deal in 2018, and the three signatory European nations — France, Germany and Britain — have triggered the deal’s “snapback” mechanism to reimpose the sanctions, accusing Iran of non-compliance. The UN Security Council last week nixed a resolution that sought to block the sanctions being reimposed.In his speech, Pezeshkian repeatedly accused Israel of genocide in Gaza — a charge Israel has rejected. “At the very least,” Pezeskian said, “over 35,000 innocent civilians in Gaza.”The figure appeared to refer to the number of women, children and elderly that Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has reported. A July report in Hamas-affiliated press agency Safa quoted the health ministry as saying women, children and the elderly constituted over 55% of people killed by Israel in Gaza since war there was sparked when Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023.At the time of the report, just over 60,000 Palestinians were reported dead. The toll has since risen to over 65,000, according to the Hamas health ministry.The Hamas figures cannot be independently verified and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed some 22,000 gunmen in Gaza as of August, as well as some 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.Pezeshkian went on to denounce the idea of “Greater Israel,” a concept that has been used to describe a Jewish state spanning all or some of Jordan, the West Bank, Gaza, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that he feels connected to the vision, putting the Arab and Muslim world on edge.In the UN, Pezeshkian said: “The ludicrous and delusional scheme of a Greater Israel is being proclaimed with brazenness by the highest echelons of that regime. The scheme encompasses vast swaths of the region.”“The map itself lays bare the true intentions of the Zionist regime, intentions that have of late been openly endorsed by its criminal prime minister,” he said. “None in the world is secure from the aggressive machinations of this regime.”“It is manifest that the Zionist regime and its sponsors no longer even content themselves with normalization through political means,” said Pezeshkian. “Rather, they impose their presence through naked force and have styled it peace through strength. Yet this is neither peace nor power. It is nothing but aggression, rooted in coercion and bullying.”Pezeshkian met later Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said a deal was possible to avoid restored nuclear sanctions but that only hours were left.“An agreement remains possible. Only a few hours are left. It’s up to Iran to respond to the legitimate issues we have raised,” Macron wrote on X.Spain touts ‘spirit’ of 2015 repatriation law for Sephardic Jews-Spain’s King Felipe VI told the UN General Assembly that his country sees with “full severity” violations of international law in “Palestine, in the Gaza Strip.”Spain has been one of Israel’s harshest critics in the EU and last year joined Norway, Ireland and Slovenia in recognizing Palestinian statehood, infuriating Israel. This year, ahead of the General Assembly, several more Western nations including Britain, France and Canada have recognized Palestinian statehood.In criticizing the Gaza war, King Felipe alluded to his country’s 2015 law of return for the descendants of Sephardic Jews, meant to redress the “historic mistake” of the Inquisition in which their Jewish ancestors were expelled from the country, forcibly converted or executed, leading to the destruction of what had been one of Jewry’s most prolific and powerful centers.“Spain is a nation deeply proud of its Sephardic roots,” said the king. “When we speak to the people of Israel, we speak to a people of brothers and sisters, a people who, when they return to Spain, to Cordoba, Toledo, Seville, Barcelona, and so many other places, come home. This was the spirit behind the 2015 law, which was passed with broad consensus, granting Spanish nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews, originally from Spain.”“It is for this reason, and it is so difficult for us to understand, and we are so pained by the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza. We therefore cry out, we implore, we demand, stop this massacre now,” he said. “No more deaths in the name of a people that are so wise and ancient, who have suffered so greatly throughout history.”“Let us be clear, we unequivocally condemn the heinous terrorism of Hamas, especially the brutal massacre of the seventh of October 2023 against the Israeli population. And we recognize Israel’s right to self-defense, but with equal strength, we demand that the Israeli government fully uphold international humanitarian law throughout Gaza and the West Bank,” said the king, calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid to be sent into the Strip.Lebanese president demands ‘full withdrawal of IDF troops’Lebanon’s president on Tuesday called for the “immediate cessation of Israeli aggression” in his country, saying this was necessary for the  military to assume full control of the country’s borders.Aoun, whose election in January ended a two-year impasse in the role, has vowed to uphold a state monopoly on arms — a veiled threat against Hezbollah’s extensive arsenal.Following the war with Hezbollah last year, Israel has withdrawn from all but five strategic posts in southern Lebanon and continued to carry out strikes against the terror group.Aoun, in his speech, demanded the “full withdrawal of IDF troops” and “the return of our hostages,” Lebanese nationals detained by Israel during the fighting.“This will be achieved with the help of the mandate given to [the] United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) working in coordination with the Lebanese Army, over a transitional period, to impose peace and stability,” he said. “In this context, allow me to extend my gratitude to the members of the Security Council who adopted the decision to renew the UNIFIL’s mandate, to help us achieve lasting peace and stability.”Under the November 27 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, weapons in south Lebanon were to be held only by the state, and the IDF was permitted to act against imminent threats by the terror group. Israel has since carried out hundreds of attacks on Hezbollah personnel or assets, the vast majority of them in southern Lebanon.The agreement ended over a year of conflict, which Hezbollah, unprovoked, began on October 8, 2023 — a day after the Hamas onslaught — with near-daily attacks on Israeli border communities, displacing about 60,000 people. In a bid to ensure their safe return home, Israel last September escalated operations in Lebanon, decimating Hezbollah’s leadership.Aoun also addressed the war in Gaza, calling for “an immediate end to the devastation” there and urging “the revival of a new political track, aimed at finding a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue, based on the decisions of the international community and the principle of a two-state solution, ensuring the right of both states to a secure and dignified existence.”He noted that the principle had been endorsed earlier this month by an overwhelming majority of UN member states, who called for a Palestinian state without Hamas.Leaders of Iraq, Morocco slam Israel over Gaza-Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that the treatment of Palestinians by Israel is “inhumane” and a “disgrace.”“The Palestinian civilians are beset by killing, starvation, displacement, and the destruction of infrastructure and state institutions. This is inhumane. It’s a disgrace for humanity. Therefore, this must end,” he said, calling for the international community to take “urgent measures” to ensure a solution to the Palestinian issue.“This, and the establishment of an independent State of Palestine, is the only pathway to stability and security in the Middle East and the entire world,” he said, adding that the treatment of Palestinians is proof of the world’s “selectiveness” when protecting human rights.Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch also called Tuesday for a ceasefire and entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying his nation “stands in solidarity” with Middle Eastern countries that have been attacked by Israel.Akhannouch urged the United Nations to work to “save the region from the cycle of violence,” and outlined steps to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians.“One, an immediate ceasefire (in Gaza) and a return to the negotiating table in order to put a final end to the war. Two, ensuring the entry of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank without any conditions or restrictions. Three, promote the vital role of UNRWA,” the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israel has accused of cooperating with Hamas. “And four, implement a clear and comprehensive roadmap for reconstruction,” said Akhannouch.“We continue to believe that the two-state solution is the only way to achieve sustainable and comprehensive peace in the Middle East,” he said, adding that such a process cannot be delayed.Morocco is one of a handful of Arab nations that recognized Israel in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Defense minister threatens to hit Houthis back ‘sevenfold’Over 20 wounded, including 2 seriously, in Houthi drone attack on Eilat-Unmanned aircraft explodes in shopping area after IDF fails to down it despite firing two Iron Dome interceptors; incident comes days after Houthi drone smashed into hotel in resort city-By Emanuel Fabian-Today, 7:05 pmUpdated at 9:59 pm--SEP 24,25

Over 20 people were wounded on Wednesday evening after a drone launched by the Houthis in Yemen exploded in Eilat, days after another smashed into a hotel in the Red Sea resort city.Medics reported that among the injured were two men, ages 60 and 26, listed in serious condition, along with a 30-year-old who was moderately hurt and 19 others with light wounds.Most of the wounded were hit by shrapnel, with the Israeli Air Force dispatching two helicopters to evacuate those more severely hurt to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. Most of the injured were treated at Eilat’s Yoseftal Medical Center, the country’s smallest general hospital.Footage from the attack showed the drone impact near a hotel in a shopping area.The military acknowledged that attempts to intercept the drone had failed, with two Iron Dome interceptor missiles fired at the unmanned aircraft, while noting that sirens had sounded a warning of an attack “according to protocol.”The Israeli Air Force launched an investigation into the failure.According to an initial probe by the IAF, the drone was detected late, though sirens were still activated to warn civilians. The failure of the Iron Dome to shoot down the drone was possibly because it was flying low, although this was still under investigation. Because of the late detection, the IAF did not have enough time to dispatch helicopters or fighter jets to shoot it down.“The Houthi terrorists refuse to learn from Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza, and will learn the hard way,” Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X after the attack. “Whoever harms Israel will be harmed sevenfold.”The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen later took responsibility for the attack, claiming to have launched two drones at two separate targets in Eilat, the second of which likely failed to reach Israel.The Houthis also claimed to have launched several more drones at targets in Eilat and Beersheba a day earlier. There were no reports of drones reaching Israel from Yemen on Tuesday, or any being intercepted, indicating that they all failed to reach the country.The Houthis have frequently carried out attacks targeting Eilat, including the incident last week in which a drone struck a hotel entrance, causing damage but no injuries.A Houthi attack earlier this month also hit Ramon Airport outside the city, causing damage and lightly wounding one person.Later Wednesday, a ballistic missile launched at Israel by the Houthis fell short outside the country’s borders, according to military officials. The IDF identified the launch, but no sirens sounded in Israel because the missile did not pose a threat.Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched nearly 90 ballistic missiles and at least 41 drones at Israel.The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes, most recently last week, against military infrastructure at the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida in western Yemen, in response to the Iran-backed group’s repeated attacks on Israel.Last month, an Israeli strike on Sanaa killed the prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi government and several other ministers, with Israel warning that the attack on the group’s upper echelons was “just the beginning.”Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

US president pledged he won't let Israel annex West Bank-Trump presented comprehensive plan to end Gaza war in UN meeting with Muslim leaders-Participating countries issue position paper welcoming proposal, while stressing they oppose any Israeli occupation of Gaza, displacement of Palestinians or annexation of West Bank-By Jacob Magid-Today, 5:37 pmUpdated at 7:33 pm-SEP 24,25

US President Donald Trump presented his plan for ending the Gaza war, releasing remaining hostages and rehabilitating the Strip under non-Hamas rule during a multilateral meeting with the leaders of eight Arab and Muslim countries, two Arab diplomats briefed on the sit-down told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.Trump also vowed that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, a source at the sit-down and a second source briefed on the matter told The Times of Israel, confirming a report in Politico.A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Monday that the Trump administration has privately cautioned Israel against annexing the West Bank in response to the decisions by Western countries to recognize Palestine in recent days.However, Jerusalem does not feel that the warning marked “an end to the discussion” and Netanyahu plans to discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump during their White House meeting next Monday, the Israeli official said.To date, the Trump administration has avoided taking a public stance regarding potential Israeli annexation of the West Bank and has argued that Western countries are to blame for Jerusalem considering the step due to their decisions to recognize Palestinian statehood.Parts of the plan presented by Trump at the Tuesday meeting are based on a proposal crafted by former UK prime minister Tony Blair, which was revealed by The Times of Israel last week.While the Blair plan focuses on the post-war management of Gaza, the plan presented by Trump also outlines how the war itself would end, envisioning a ceasefire of several weeks during which all of the remaining 48 hostages would be released, one of the Arab diplomats said.The participating countries were briefed on the US proposal ahead of time and presented a position paper that welcomed Trump’s plan, a source familiar with the matter said.The paper’s four key points were: welcoming the proposal for a comprehensive end to the war in Gaza; stressing the importance of bringing back the hostages, ending the war and allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza; committing to be part of a peaceful solution for the region, based on Trump’s vision; and calling out continued Israeli strikes on countries in the region, including the recent attack on Hamas chiefs in Qatar.The position paper also said the countries reject continued Israeli military operations in Gaza, an Israeli occupation of Gaza and the establishment of settlements there, forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza and preventing those who left from returning, Israeli annexation of the West Bank, and steps that violate the status quo at Jerusalem holy sites.The source familiar with the matter said the White House on Wednesday is planning to issue a statement on the meeting but is waiting to receive approval of the wording from all participating countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.“We want to end the war in Gaza. We’re going to end it. Maybe we can end it right now,” Trump told the press at the start of the meeting before reporters were ushered out of the room.“This is my most important meeting,” he continued. “But this is the one that’s very important to me because we’re going to end something that should have probably never started.”Trump said the sit-down included “all of the big players except for Israel, but that’s going to be next,” in apparent reference to his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.Trump also complimented Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s speech to the General Assembly earlier, in which Subianto said peace requires guaranteeing Israel’s security.Following the meeting, Trump simply waved to gathered news reporters without commenting on how things went, and there was no immediate comment from the White House. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff offered a thumbs-up when asked how the meeting had fared.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the meeting with Trump as “very fruitful.”Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said a joint declaration from the meeting would be published and that he was “pleased” with the outcomes of the meeting, but did not elaborate.Emirati state news agency WAM, meanwhile, reported that the meeting focused on ending the ongoing war in Gaza and reaching a permanent ceasefire. The news agency said releasing all hostages and taking steps toward addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn enclave were also discussed as priorities.

US envoy Witkoff ‘confident’ of Gaza breakthrough in coming days as peace plan floated-Witkoff says Trump’s 21-point plan for peace, shared with Arab and Islamic leaders on sidelines of UN General Assembly, addresses Israel’s and the region’s concerns-By Agencies and ToI Staff 25 September 2025, 1:52 am

US envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday he expected a breakthrough related to Gaza in the coming days, saying US President Donald Trump had presented a plan to regional countries.Witkoff, a real estate friend of Trump who has become his roving ambassador and the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, said the US president shared ideas when meeting with a group of Arab and Islamic countries on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.“We presented what we call the Trump 21-point plan for peace in the Mideast and Gaza,” Witkoff said.“I think it addresses Israeli concerns as well as the concerns of all the neighbors in the region,” he told the Concordia summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.“We’re hopeful, and I might say even confident, that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough.”A joint statement from the governments represented in Tuesday’s meeting said the leaders had “reiterated their commitment to cooperate with President Trump, and stressed the importance of his leadership to end the war.”The meeting included representatives from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan.French President Emmanuel Macron, who also met with Trump on Tuesday, said he expected the plan, which Witkoff did not detail, to include elements he presented to the US president.Macron has promoted a plan that would include the dismantling of Hamas and an international force to stabilize war-ravaged Gaza.“The United States is now going to absorb that, so to speak,” Macron said in an interview jointly with France 24 and Radio France Internationale.“I think that if we can align everyone — the United States, the Arabs, the Europeans — around this peace plan, we can have a result,” Macron said.Macron also on Monday led a summit that recognized a Palestinian state, an initiative strongly opposed by Trump and Israel.But Macron said that Trump shared opposition to Israeli annexation of the West Bank, a threat made by right-wing Israeli ministers to scuttle the prospects for a Palestinian state.“What President Trump told me yesterday was that the Europeans and Americans have the same position,” Macron said.Witkoff and Trump have repeatedly voiced hope for ending the devastating, nearly two-year war, which began when Hamas launched its shock cross-border assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages. Of those hostages, 47 still remain captive, and Hamas is also holding the body of an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.Secretary of State Marco Rubio was more somber on a trip last week to Israel, which has launched a massive new offensive to seize Gaza City.While the details of Trump’s plan have not been made public, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Wednesday evening that senior Israeli officials do not believe the president will “force a proposal on Israel it doesn’t believe in.”Unnamed senior officials told Channel 12 that Jerusalem sees Trump’s 21-point plan as a framework for creating a “day after” in Gaza, in cooperation with moderate Arab states.According to the outlet, the Trump administration hopes that the framework will mobilize the Arab states — which the report does not identify by name — into pouring money into the war-torn Strip and rebuilding its civilian infrastructure.Trump is due to meet with Netanyahu in Washington on Monday.Ahead of his departure for the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is due to speak on Friday, Netanyahu was said to have told his ministers that he and Trump will discuss possible responses to the wave of announcements from Western countries recognizing a Palestinian state.He reportedly insisted to the ministers that any move Israel may want to make — such as annexing a portion of the West Bank — would need Trump’s approval.Earlier this week, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the Trump administration had privately cautioned Israel against annexing the West Bank in response to Western recognition of a Palestinian state.Publicly, however, Washington has avoided taking a public stance regarding potential Israeli annexation of the West Bank and has argued that Western countries are to blame for Jerusalem considering the step due to their decisions to recognize a Palestinian state.Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

UN General AssemblyIsrael: Deal needs demilitarized southwest, safety for Druze-At UN, Sharaa blasts Israeli airstrikes but says Syria ‘committed to dialogue’In first UNGA speech by Syrian leader since 1967, Sharaa says suffering under Assad compels Syrians to stand with Gaza; says country ‘reclaiming its rightful place,’ urges end to all sanctions-By Lazar Berman,ToI Staff and Agencies 25 September 2025, 12:14 am

Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa condemned Israel’s ongoing strikes on his country and said Damascus is “committed to dialogue” and to a 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel.In his speech — the first by a Syrian leader at the UN since 1967 — Sharaa called for the removal of sanctions on his country, and highlighted Syria’s suffering under what he described as six decades of murderous dictatorship brought to an end by the toppling of longtime President Bashar Al-Assad in December, led by Sharaa’s forces.The Syrians’ suffering made it incumbent on them to “stand with the people of Gaza, its children and women,” Sharaa said at the end of his speech, calling for an end to the fighting sparked by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.Following Sharaa’s speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement on negotiations for a security pact with Damascus, in which he stressed that Israel would not agree to a deal that does not guarantee the safety of Syria’s Druze minority.A deal with Syria, the Israeli statement said, “depends on ensuring Israel’s interests, which include, among other things, the demilitarization of southwestern Syria and safeguarding the safety and security of the Druze in Syria.”Israel, home to about 150,000 Druze, cited a need to protect the Syrian Druze when carrying out airstrikes in the country earlier this year, amid sectarian violence in which forces loyal to Sharaa allegedly took part in massacres against the Druze.Netanyahu’s statement confirmed for the second time this week that Israel was negotiating with Syria, and it came as the premier was set to leave for the UN General Assembly, with reports indicating that he could hold a historic meeting with the Syrian leader in New York.Israel and Syria have officially been at war since 1948, when Israel was established. The war is rooted in territorial disputes, military confrontations and deep-seated political mistrust.Following Assad’s ouster, Israel seized the Syrian side of the two countries’ buffer zone, citing a fear that the area would fall into the wrong hands. The area was delineated under the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement, in the wake of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.Israel has also frequently carried out strikes against assets and infrastructure belonging to Assad’s former military, which was bolstered in its final years by forces from Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.‘From an exporter of crisis to an opportunity for peace’Sharaa, the former head of a rebel jihadi group once affiliated with al-Qaeda, vowed in his speech “to try to uproot sectarianism and to fight against attempts to divide our country once again” as it seeks to reinvent itself.“Syria is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world,” he said. “Syria has transformed from an exporter of crisis to an opportunity for peace for Syria and the region.”Sharaa said the Assad regime, which fell at the end of a nearly 14-year civil war, had used “the worst torture against our people, the chemical weapons and bombardment.”“It has torn our country apart and brought forth fighters from around the world. The former regime killed around a million innocent people and displaced thousands and millions and demolished 2 million homes,” he said.The Syrian people “had no choice but to organize militarily to oust a criminal regime,” he said, adding that the rebel offensive “prioritized tolerance and that did not target civilians. It targeted justice without vengeance. We restored our rights and we became victorious.”“I guarantee to bring to justice and hold everyone accountable who was responsible for the bloodshed,” Sharaa said.“In this context, Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue, contradicting the international support for Syria and threatening new crises,” he added.“In the face of this aggression, Syria is committed to dialogue, and we are committed to the disengagement of the Forces Agreement of 1974,” said Sharaa. “We call on the international community to stand beside us in the face of these attacks.”Sharaa called for the complete dismantlement of sanctions levied on his country under the Assad regime. US President Donald Trump met him in Riyadh in May and ordered most sanctions lifted, but the Caesar Syria Civil Protection Act of 2019, which authorized the sanctions, remains US law.Damascus is “building institutions and laws that guarantee the rights of all without exception,” said Sharaa. “We are determined to restore Syria’s glory, dignity, and honor.”He thanked “everyone who stood by the Syrian cause,” specifying, “Turkey, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and all Arab and Islamic States, the United States of America and the European Union.”Concluding, Sharaa said, “the suffering Syria endured we wish upon no one. We are among the people most deeply aware of the horrors of war and destruction.”“For this reason, we stand firmly with the people of Gaza, its children and women, and all people facing violations and aggression. We call for an immediate end to the war,” he said.

Satellite images show Iran has started rebuilding key missile sites hit by Israel-Experts say a main component, the large mixers needed to produce solid fuel for the weapons, is still missing; Iran believes resuming missile production key to deterring Israel By Jon Gambrell Today, 2:16 pm-SEP 24,25

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has begun rebuilding missile-production sites targeted by Israel during its 12-day war in June, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press show, but a key component is likely still missing — the large mixers needed to produce solid fuel for the weapons.Reconstituting the missile program is crucial for the Islamic Republic, which believes another round of war with Israel may happen. The missiles are one of Iran’s few military deterrents after the war decimated its air defense systems — something that Tehran long has insisted will never be included in negotiations with the West.Missile experts told AP that obtaining the mixers is a goal for Tehran, particularly as it prepares for possible United Nations sanctions to be reimposed on the country later this month. The sanctions would penalize any development of the missile program, among other measures. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is due to address the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.Known as planetary mixers, the machines feature blades that revolve around a central point, like orbiting planets, and offer better mixing action than other types of equipment. Iran could purchase them from China, where experts and US officials say they’ve purchased missile fuel ingredients and other components in the past.“If they’re able to reacquire some key things like planetary mixers, then that infrastructure is still there and ready to get rolling again,” said Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies who studied Iranian missile sites.Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to questions about the country’s efforts to rebuild its missile program.Israeli war targeted solid-fuel missile sitesSolid-fuel missiles can be fired faster than those using liquid fuel, which must be loaded just before launch. That speed can make the difference between launching a missile and having it destroyed in a launcher — something that happened during the war with Israel.Iran has solid-fuel missile manufacturing bases at Khojir and Parchin, two sites just outside Tehran, as well as at Shahroud, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) northeast of the capital. Even before the most recent war, all of those sites came under Israeli attack in October 2024 during hostilities between the countries.Attacks during the war in June appeared aimed at destroying buildings that housed the mixers, which are needed to ensure the missile fuel is evenly combined, according to experts. Other sites struck by Israel included manufacturing facilities that likely could be used to make the mixers.Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC taken this month and analyzed by AP show construction at both the Parchin and Shahroud facilities.At Parchin, mixing buildings appear to be under repair, Lair said, and similar rebuilding is happening at Shahroud involving mixing buildings and other structures.The speed at which Iran is rebuilding shows the importance Tehran puts on its missile program. Iran’s bombed nuclear sites so far have not seen the same level of activity.During the war, Iran fired 574 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to the Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security of America, which has a close relationship with the Israeli military. In two exchanges of fire before the war, Iran launched another 330 missiles, the think tank said.The Israeli military had estimated Iran’s total arsenal at around 2,500 missiles, meaning that over a third of its missiles were fired.Before the war, Iran was on track to be able to produce more than 200 solid-fuel missiles a month, said Carl Parkin, a summer fellow at the James Martin Center. That drew Israeli strikes to missile-building facilities.“Israel’s targeting indicates that they believed mixing was a bottleneck in Iran’s missile production,” he said. “If Iran is able to overcome their mixing limitations, they’ll have all the casting capacity that they need to start producing at high volumes again.”The Israeli military declined to respond to questions over its strategy.Israel said it launched the war to set back Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Iran — which routinely vows to destroy Israel — was on track to build 20,000 missiles, something that would constitute an existential threat to Israel.Iran’s defense minister, Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh, recently claimed Tehran now has new missiles with more advanced warheads.“The 12-day war with Israel has altered some of our priorities,” he said on Aug. 22. “We are now focused on producing military equipment with higher precision and greater operational capabilities.”Chinese mixers seen at Syria missile site affiliated with IranIran may choose to rely on China to obtain mixers and the chemicals to make solid fuel.Such chemicals may have caused a massive explosion in April that killed at least 70 people at a port in Iran. Iran still has not explained the blast, which happened as its diplomats met with Americans in Oman over its nuclear program.Just days after the explosion, the US State Department sanctioned Chinese firms it said provided the Islamic Republic with “ballistic missile propellant ingredients.”Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard likely supplied a planetary mixer to an underground ballistic missile construction facility in Syria near the town of Masyaf, some 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of the capital, Damascus, near the Lebanese border.Footage released by the Israeli military months after the September 2024 raid on the facility showed the mixer, which bore a resemblance to others sold online by Chinese firms.Iran’s president and military officials visited Beijing earlier this month for China’s Victory Day parade. Iran’s government has provided no detailed readout on what Pezeshkian said to Chinese President Xi Jinping, and China’s state-run media offered no indications that Tehran asked for help.The Chinese Foreign Ministry, asked about possibly supplying Tehran mixers and fuel ingredients, told AP that Beijing is “willing to continue leveraging its influence to contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East.”“China supports Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and national dignity,” the ministry said. “At the same time, China is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East.”Can Kasapoğlu, a senior fellow with the Washington-based Hudson Institute, said Beijing could supply guidance systems and microprocessors as well for Iran’s ballistic missiles.“If Iran uses its relationship with China to bolster its disruptive military capabilities, the 12-day war could be a mere speed bump for the Iranian regime, rather than a decisive defeat,” he wrote.Lair, the analyst, said if Iran restarts its production at prewar levels, the sheer number of missiles produced will make it harder for the Israelis to preemptively destroy them or shoot them down.“They are clearly very invested in their missile program, and I don’t think that they’re going to negotiate it away, ever,” he said.Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report

ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 720-General Assembly addressRecognizing Palestine is 'giving in to Hamas ransom demands'Full text of Trump speech: UN is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders-US president says United Nations ‘did not even try’ to stop 7 wars he halted; derides global warming as a con job; says ‘failed experiment’ of open borders is sending Europe to hell By ToI Staff 24 September 2025, 12:44 pm

This is the full text of US President Donald Trump’s address to the United Nations General Assembly, September 23, 2025.Thank you very much, very much appreciated.And I don’t mind making this speech without a teleprompter because the teleprompter is not working. I feel very happy to be up here with you, nevertheless, and that way you speak more from the heart. I can only say that whoever’s operating this teleprompter is in big trouble.Hello, Madam First Lady. Thank you very much for being here, and Madam President, Mr. Secretary-General, First Lady of the United States, distinguished delegates, ambassadors, and world leaders.Six years have passed since I last stood in this grand hall and addressed a world that was prosperous and at peace in my first term. Since that day, the guns of war have shattered the peace I forged on two continents. An era of calm and stability gave way to one of the great crises of our time.And here in the United States, four years of weakness, lawlessness, and radicalism under the last administration delivered our nation into a repeated set of disasters.One year ago, our country was in deep trouble, but today, just eight months into my administration, we are the hottest country anywhere in the world, and there is no other country even close.America is blessed with the strongest economy, the strongest borders, the strongest military, the strongest friendships, and the strongest spirit of any nation on the face of the Earth. This is indeed the golden age of America.We are rapidly reversing the economic calamity we inherited from the previous administration, including ruinous price increases and record-setting inflation, inflation like we’ve never had before. Under my leadership, energy costs are down, gasoline prices are down, grocery prices are down. Mortgage rates are down and inflation has been defeated.The only thing that’s up is the stock market, which just hit a record high. In fact, it hit a record high 48 times in the last short period of time. Growth is surging. Manufacturing is booming. The stock market, as I said, is doing better than it’s ever done. And all of you in this room benefit by that. Almost everybody. And importantly, workers’ wages are rising at the fastest pace in more than 60 years. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?In four years of [former US] President [Joe] Biden, we had less than $1 trillion of new investment into the United States. In just eight months since I took office, we have secured commitments and money already paid for $17 trillion. Think of it, four years less than a trillion; eight months, much more than $17 trillion is being invested in the United States and is now pouring in from all parts of the world.We’ve implemented the largest tax cuts in American history and the largest regulation cuts in American history, making this once and again the best country on earth to do business, and many of the people in this room are investing in America, and it’s turned out to be an awfully good investment during this eight-month period.In my first term, I built the greatest economy in the history of the world. We had the best economy ever, history of the world, and I’m doing the same thing again, but this time it’s actually much bigger and even better. The numbers far surpass my record-setting first term.On our southern border, we have successfully repelled a colossal invasion, and for the last four months, and that’s four months in a row, the number of illegal aliens admitted and entering our country has been zero. Hard to believe, because if you look back just a year ago, it was millions and millions of people pouring in from all over the world, from prisons, from mental institutions, drug dealers, all over the world they came. They just poured into our country with the ridiculous open border policy of the Biden administration.Our message is very simple. If you come illegally into the United States, you’re going to jail or you’re going back to where you came from, or perhaps even further than that. You know what that means.I want to thank the country of El Salvador for the successful and professional job they’ve done in receiving and jailing so many criminals that entered our country. And it was under the previous administration that the number became record-setting, and they’re all being taken out. We have no choice. And other countries have no choice because other countries are in the exact same situation with immigration. It’s destroying your country and you have to do something about it.I have ended seven unendable wars-On the world stage, America is respected again like it has never been respected before. Do you think about two years ago, three years ago, four years ago, or one year ago, we were a laughing stock all over the world.At the NATO summit in June, virtually all NATO members formally committed to increased defense spending at my request from 2 percent to 5 percent of GDP, making our alliance far stronger and more powerful than it was ever before.In May, I traveled to the Middle East to visit my friends and rebuild our partnerships in the Gulf and those valued relationships with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE [United Arab Emirates], and other countries are now, I believe, closer than ever before. My administration has negotiated one historic trade deal after another, including with the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and many, many others.Likewise, in a period of just seven months, I have ended seven unendable wars. They said they were unendable. You’re never gonna get them solved. Some were going for 31 years, two of them, 31, think of it, 31 years. One was 36 years, one was 28 years. I ended seven wars. And in all cases, they were raging with countless, thousands of people, being killed.This includes Cambodia and Thailand; Kosovo and Serbia; the Congo and Rwanda, a vicious, violent war that was; Pakistan and India; Israel and Iran; Egypt and Ethiopia; and Armenia and Azerbaijan. It included all of them. No president or prime minister, and for that matter, no other country has ever done anything close to that. And I did it in just seven months. It’s never happened before. There’s never been anything like that. Very honored to have done it.It’s too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them. And sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them. I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal.All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen, but she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape, we’re both still. And then a teleprompter that didn’t work.These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much. And by the way, it’s working now, just went on. Thank you. I think I should just do it the other way; it’s easier. Thank you very much.I didn’t think of it at the time because I was too busy working to save millions of lives – that is, the saving and stopping of these wars — but later I realized that the United Nations wasn’t there for us. They weren’t there. I thought of it really after the fact, not during these negotiations, which were not easy.What is the purpose of the United Nations?That being the case, what is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN has such tremendous potential. I’ve always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential for the most part, at least for now. All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. It’s empty words, and empty words don’t solve war. The only thing that solves war and wars is action.Now, after ending all of these wars and also earlier negotiating the Abraham Accords, which is a very big thing for which our country received no credit, never receives credit. Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each one of these achievements. But for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up with their mothers and fathers because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless and unglorious wars.What I care about is not winning prizes at saving lives. We saved millions and millions of lives with the seven wars. And we have others that we’re working on, and you know that.Many years ago, a very successful real estate developer in New York, known as Donald J. Trump, I bid on the renovation and rebuilding of this very United Nations complex. I remember it so well. I said at the time that I would do it for $500 million, rebuilding everything, it would be beautiful. I used to talk about, I’m going to give you marble floors, they’re going to give you terrazzo. I’m gonna give you the best of everything. You’re gonna have mahogany walls, they’re gonna give you plastic.But they decided to go in another direction, which was much more expensive at the time, which actually produced a far inferior product. And I realized that they did not know what they were doing when it came to construction and that their building concepts were so wrong and the product that they were proposing to build was so bad and so costly. It was going to cost them a fortune, and I said, ‘and wait till you see the overruns.’ Well, I turned out to be right – they had massive cost overruns and spent between $2 [billion] and $4 billion on the building and did not even get the marble floors that I promised them. You walk on terrazzo, do you notice that? As far as I’m concerned, frankly, looking at the building and getting stuck on the escalator, they still haven’t finished the job. They still haven’t finished, that was years ago. The project was so corrupt that Congress actually asked me to testify before them on the tremendous waste of money because it turned out that they had no idea what it was, but they knew it was anywhere between $2 [billion] and $4 billion as opposed to $500 million with a guarantee, but they had no idea and I said it cost much more than $5 billion.Unfortunately, many things in the United Nations are happening just like that, but on an even much bigger scale, much, much bigger, very sad to see whether the UN can manage to play a productive role. I’ve come here today to offer the hand of American leadership and friendship to any nation in this assembly that is willing to join us in forging a safer, more prosperous world-I’ve come here today to offer the hand of American leadership and friendship to any nation in this assembly that is willing to join us in forging a safer, more prosperous world. It’s a world that we’ll be much happier with, a dramatically better future is within our reach. But to get there, we must reject the failed approaches of the past and work together to confront some of the greatest threats in history.There is no more serious danger to our planet today than the most powerful and destructive weapons ever devised by man, of which the United States, as you know, has many. Just as I did in my first term, I’ve made containing these threats a top priority, starting with the nation of Iran.The world’s number one sponsor of terror can never be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon-My position is very simple. The world’s number one sponsor of terror can never be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon. That’s why, shortly after taking office, I sent the so-called supreme leader a letter making a generous offer. I extended a pledge of full cooperation in exchange for a suspension of Iran’s nuclear program. The regime’s answer was to continue their constant threats to their neighbors and US interests throughout the region and some great countries that are right nearby.Today, many of Iran’s former military commanders, — in fact, I can say almost all of them — are no longer with us. They’re dead. And three months ago in Operation Midnight Hammer, seven American B-2 bombers dropped the 14 30,000-pound-each bombs on Iran’s key nuclear facilities, totally obliterating everything. No other country on earth could have done what we did. No other county has the equipment to do what we do. We have the greatest weapons on earth. We hate to use them, but we did something that for 22 years, people wanted to do.With Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity demolished, I immediately brokered an end to the 12-day war, as it’s called, between Israel and Iran, with both sides agreeing to fight, fight no longer.Rejectionist Hamas-As everyone knows, I have also been deeply engaged in seeking a cease-fire in Gaza. Have to get that done. Have to get it done. Unfortunately, Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace. We can’t forget Oct. 7, can we?As if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities. This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7-Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities. This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including Oct. 7. Even while they refuse to release the hostages or accept a cease-fire, instead of giving to Hamas and giving so much – because they’ve taken so much, they have taken so much. This could have been solved so long ago.But instead of giving in to Hamas’s ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: Release the hostages now. Just release the hostages now. Thank you.As we have got to come together, and we will come together to get it done, we have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to stop it. We have to get it done. We have to negotiate, immediately have to negotiate peace. We got to get the hostages back. We want all 20 back. We don’t want two and four. As you know, along with [US special envoy] Steve Witkoff and others that helped us, [US Secretary of State] Marco Rubio, we got most of them back. We were involved in all of them.But I always said, the last 20 are gonna be the hardest, and that’s exactly what happened. We have to get them back now. We don’t want to get back two, then another two, and then one, and then three, have this process. No, we want them all back, and we want the actually 38 dead bodies back, too. Those parents came to me, and they want them back, and they want them back very quickly and very badly, as though they were alive, they want them every bit as much as if their son or daughter were alive.On Ukraine, Europe has to step it up-I’ve also been working relentlessly, stopping the killing in Ukraine. I thought that would be, of the seven wars that I stopped, I thought that would be the easiest because of my relationship with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, which had always been a good one. I thought that was going to be the easiest one. But you know, in war, you never know what’s going to happen. There are always lots of surprises, both good and bad. Everyone thought Russia would win this war in three days. But it didn’t work out that way. It was supposed to be just a quick little skirmish. It’s not making Russia look good. It’s making them look bad.No matter what happens from here on out, this was something that should have taken a matter of days, certainly less than a week. And they’ve been fighting for three and a half years and killing anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 young soldiers, mostly, mostly soldiers, on both sides, every single week, from 5,000 to 7,000 dead young people. And some in cities, much smaller numbers, where rockets are shot, where drones are dropped.This war would never have started if I were president. This was a war that should have never happened. It shows you what leadership is, what bad leadership can do to a country. Look what happened to the United States and look where we are right now in just a short period of time. The only question now is how many more lives will be needlessly lost on both sides.China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil, but inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products, which as you know I found out about two weeks ago and I wasn’t happy. Think of it. They’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one? In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs which would stop the bloodshed, I believe very quickly, but for those tariffs to be effective, European nations – all of you are gathered here right now – would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures.I mean, you’re much closer to this thing. We have an ocean in between. You’re right there. And Europe has to step it up. They can’t be doing what they’re doing. They’re buying oil and gas from Russia while they’re fighting Russia. It’s embarrassing to them. And it was very embarrassing to them when I found out about it, I can tell you that. But they have to immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia, otherwise we’re all wasting a lot of time, so I’m ready to discuss this, we’re going to discuss it today with the European nations all gathered here. I’m sure they’re thrilled to hear me speak about it. But that’s the way it is, I like to speak my mind and speak the truth.Stop biological weapons-As we seek to reduce the threat of dangerous weapons today, I’m also calling on every nation to join us in ending the development of biological weapons. Once and for all, and biological is terrible, and nuclear is even beyond, and we include nuclear in that, we want to have a cessation of the development of nuclear weapons. We know and I know and I get to view it all the time — Sir, would you like to see — and I look at weapons that are so powerful that we just can’t ever use them. If we ever use them, the world literally might come to an end. There would be no United Nations to be talking about. There would no nothing.Just a few years ago, reckless experiments overseas gave us a devastating global pandemic. Yet despite that worldwide catastrophe, many countries are continuing extremely risky research into bioweapons and manmade pathogens. This is unbelievably dangerous.To prevent potential disasters, I’m announcing today that my administration will lead an international effort to enforce [the] Biological Weapons Convention, which is going to be meeting with the top leaders of the world by pioneering an AI [artificial intelligence] verification system that everyone can trust. Hopefully, the UN can play a constructive role and it will also go be one of the early projects under AI.Let’s see how good it is, because a lot of people are saying it could be one of the great things ever, but it also can be dangerous, but it could be put to tremendous use and tremendous good and this would be an example of that.UN funding assault on Western countries and their borders-Not only is the UN not solving the problems it should, too often, it’s actually creating new problems for us to solve. The best example is the number one political issue of our time: the crisis of uncontrolled migration. It’s uncontrolled. Your countries are being ruined.The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders. In 2024, the UN budgeted $372 million in cash assistance to support an estimated 624,000 migrants journeying into the United States. Think of that. The UN is supporting people that are illegally coming into the United States and then we have to get them out. The UN also provided food, shelter, transportation, and debit cards to illegal aliens – can you believe that – on the way to infiltrate our southern border.Millions of people came through that southern border just a year ago. Millions and millions of people were pouring in. Twenty-five million altogether over the four years of the incompetent Biden administration. And now we have it stopped, totally stopped. In fact, they’re not even coming anymore because they know they can’t get through. But what took place is totally unacceptable.The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them, and not finance them. In the United States, we reject the idea that mass numbers of people from foreign lands can be permitted to travel halfway around the world, trample our borders, violate our sovereignty, cause unmitigated crime, and deplete our social safety net-The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them, and not finance them. In the United States, we reject the idea that mass numbers of people from foreign lands can be permitted to travel halfway around the world, trample our borders, violate our sovereignty, cause unmitigated crime, and deplete our social safety net.We have reasserted that America belongs to the American people, and I encourage all countries to take their own stand in defense of their citizens as well. You have to do that because I see it. I’m not mentioning names. I see and I can call every single one of them out. You’re destroying your countries. They’re being destroyed.Europe in serious trouble, invaded by illegal aliens-Europe is in serious trouble. They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe. Nobody is ever, and nobody’s doing anything to change it, to get them out. It’s not sustainable. And because they choose to be politically correct, they’re doing just absolutely nothing about it.I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor… It’s been so changed. Now they want to go to Sharia law, but you’re in a different country. You can’t do that-And I have to say, I look at London, where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor. And it’s been so changed, so changed. Now they want to go to Sharia law, but you’re in a different country. You can’t do that.Both the immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe. If something is not done immediately, they cannot, this cannot be sustained. What makes the world so beautiful is that each country is unique, but to stay this way, every sovereign nation must have the right to control their own borders.You have the right to control your borders, as we do now, and to limit the sheer numbers of migrants entering their countries and paid for by the people of that nation that were there and that built that particular nation at the time. They put their blood, sweat, tears, money into that country. And now they’re being ruined.Proud nations must be allowed to protect their communities and prevent their societies from being overwhelmed by people they have never seen before with different customs, religions, with different everything. Where migrants have violated laws, lodged false asylum claims, or claimed refugee status for illegitimate reasons, they should, in many cases, be immediately sent home. And while we will always have a big heart for places and people that are struggling and truly compassionate, answers will be given.We have to solve the problem, and we have to solve it in their countries, not create new problems in our countries. We are very helpful to a lot of countries that are just not able to send their people anymore. They used to send them to us in caravans of 25,000, 30,000 people each. These massive caravans of people pouring into our country, totally unchecked and unvetted. But not anymore.According to the Council of Europe in 2024, almost 50 percent of inmates in German prisons were foreign nationals or migrants. In Austria, the number was 53 percent of the people in prisons were from places that weren’t from where they are now. In Greece, the number was 54 percent and in Switzerland, beautiful Switzerland, 72 percent of the people in prisons are from outside of Switzerland.I can tell you. I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell-When your prisons are filled with so-called asylum-seekers who repaid kindness, and that’s what they did, they repaid kindness with crime, it’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders. You have to end it now, I can tell you. I’m really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell.A historic victory against human trafficking-In America, we’ve taken bold action to swiftly shut down uncontrolled migration. Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border and removing illegal aliens from the United States, they simply stopped coming, they’re not coming anymore. We’re getting a lot of credit but they’re not coming anymore. This was a humanitarian act for all involved because on the trips up, thousands of people a week were dying, women were being raped. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. Raped horribly, beaten, raped. On the trip up, the journey up, it was a long, it was long walk, a long arduous journey indeed.And it was also a historic victory against human trafficking throughout the region. What we did was a victory, and we saved so many lives of people that wouldn’t make the journey. That journey was loaded up with death. Loaded up with death. Dead bodies all along, all along the roads of jungles. To get up, they go through jungles, they go through areas so hot you couldn’t breathe, they were dying of suffocation, areas so high that you couldn’t breathe. Dead bodies all over.By them not coming we’re saving tremendous numbers of lives. My people have done a fantastic job in doing what they did. And the American public agrees with it. I mean, I was very proud to see this morning, I have the highest poll numbers I’ve ever had. Part of it is because of what we’ve done on the border.Any system that results in the mass trafficking of children is inherently evil. Yet that is exactly what the globalist migration agenda has done-I guess the other part is what we have done on the economy. Joe Biden’s policies empowered murderers, gangs, human smugglers, child traffickers, drug cartels and prisoners. Prisoners from all over the world. The previous administration also lost nearly 300,000 children. Think of that. They lost more than 300,000 children, little children, who were trafficked into the United States on the Biden watch, many of whom have been raped, exploited and abused and sold. Sold. Nobody talks about that. The fake news doesn’t write about it, with many others, young children who are missing or dead.And we found a lot of these children, and we’re sending them back. And we’ve been sending them back to their parents. They said, nobody knows who they are. They said where do you come from? And they’ll give us a country and we’ll find out and we’ll figure it out and we’ll bring them back to their homes. And the mother and father rush to the door and their tears in their eyes. They can’t believe that they’re seeing their son or daughter, their little son or daughter again. We’ve done almost 30,000 of them so far.Any system that results in the mass trafficking of children is inherently evil. Yet that is exactly what the globalist migration agenda has done and it’s what it’s all about. In America those days, as you know, are over.The Trump administration is working and we are continuing to work to track down the villains that are causing this problem and also, as I said, to get back the 30,000 we’ve already returned. Now I think we’re gonna have another, we’re going to find a lot. You’re not gonna find all of them, 300, more than 300,000. They’re lost or they’re dead. They’re lost or they’re dead because of the animals that did this.To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned: we will blow you out of existence-To protect our citizens, I’ve also designated multiple savage drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations… You see this, and you see it happening right before your eyes. Let’s put it this way: People don’t like taking big loads of drugs in boats anymore. There aren’t too many boats that are traveling on the seas by Venezuela. They tend not to want to travel very quickly anymore. And we’ve virtually stopped drugs coming into our country by sea. We call them the water drugs. They kill hundreds of thousands of people.I’ve also designated multiple savage drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, along with two bloodthirsty transnational gangs — probably the worst gangs anywhere in the world: MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. Tren de Aragua is from Venezuela, by the way. Such organizations torture, maim, mutilate, and murder with impunity. They’re the enemies of all humanity.For this reason, we’ve recently begun using the supreme power of the United States military to destroy Venezuelan terrorists and trafficking networks led by Nicolás Maduro. To every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America, please be warned: we will blow you out of existence. That’s what we’re doing. We have no choice. We can’t let it happen. They’re destroying lives. I believe we lost 300,000 people last year to drugs—fentanyl and other drugs. Each boat that we sink carries drugs that would kill more than 25,000 Americans. We will not let that happen.All green is all bankrupt-Energy is another area where the United States is now thriving like never before. We’re getting rid of the falsely named renewables. By the way, they’re a joke. They don’t work. They’re too expensive. They’re not strong enough to fire up the plants that you need to make your country great. The wind doesn’t blow, those big windmills are so pathetic and so bad, so expensive to operate, and they have to be rebuilt all the time, they start to rust and rot. Most expensive energy ever conceived, and it’s actually energy – you’re supposed to make money with energy, not lose money, you lose money the governments have to subsidize, you can’t put them out without massive subsidies.And most of them are built in China, and I give China a lot of credit. They build them, but they have very few wind farms. So why is it that they build them and they send them all over the world, but they barely use them? You know, they use coal, they use gas, they use almost anything, but they don’t like wind, but they sure as hell like selling the windmills.Europe, on the other hand, has a long way to go, with many countries being on the brink of destruction because of the green energy agenda. And I give a lot of credit to Germany. Germany was being led down a very sick path, both on immigration, by the way, and on energy. They were going green, and they were going bankrupt. And the new leadership, new leadership came in and they went back to where they were, with fossil fuel and with nuclear, which is good. It’s now safe and you can do it properly.But they went back to where they were. They opened up a lot of different plants, energy plants, energy producing plants, and they’re doing well. I give Germany a lot of credit for that. They’ve said, “This is a disaster, what’s happening.” They were going all green. All green is all bankrupt. That’s what it represents. And it’s not politically correct. I’ll be very badly criticized for saying it, but I’m here to tell the truth. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me.I’m in New York City. I’m feeling a lot safer. Crime, we’re getting crime down. And by the way, speaking of crime, Washington, DC, Washington, DC, was the crime capital of America. Now it’s a totally, after 12 days, it’s a totally safe city. Everyone’s going out to dinner. They’re going out to restaurants. Your wife can walk down the middle of the street with or without you, nothing’s going to happen.My people have done a fantastic job, and yes, I called in the National Guard, and the National Guard took care of business, and they weren’t politically correct, but they took care of business. We got 1,700 career criminals out, brought them back to where they came from, the countries where they come from, or put them in jails. Washington, DC, is now a totally safe city again, and I welcome you to come. In fact, we’ll have dinner together at a local restaurant, and we’ll be able to walk. We don’t have to go by an armor-plated vehicle, we’ll walk right over there from the White House.Climate change the greatest con job-They’ve given up their powerful edge, a lot of the countries that we’re talking about in oil and gas, such as essentially closing the great North Sea oil. Oh, the North Sea, I know it so well. Aberdeen [in Scotland] was the oil capital of Europe, and there’s tremendous oil that hasn’t been found in the North Sea. Tremendous oil, and I was with the prime minister who I respect and like a lot, and I said, “You’re sitting with the greatest asset.” They essentially closed it by making it so highly taxed that no developer, no oil company, can go there. They have tremendous oil left, and more importantly, they have tremendous oil that hasn’t even been found yet. And what a tremendous asset for the United Kingdom, and I hope the prime minister is listening because I told it to him three days in a row. That’s all he heard. North Sea oil, North Sea, because I want to see them do well.I want to stop seeing them ruining that beautiful Scottish, English countryside with windmills and massive solar panels that go seven miles by seven miles, taking away farmland. But we’re not letting this happen in America. In 1982, the executive director of the United Nations Environmental Program predicted that by the year 2000, climate change would cause a global catastrophe. He said that it will be irreversible, as any nuclear holocaust would be. This is what they said at the United Nations. What happened? Here we are.Another UN official stated in 1989 that within a decade, entire nations could be wiped off the map by global warming. Not happening. You know, it used to be global cooling. If you look back years ago, in the 1920s and the 1930s, they said, “Global cooling will kill the world. We have to do something.” Then they said, “Global warming will kill the world,” but then it started getting cooler. So now they could just call it climate change because that way, they can’t miss. It’s climate change. Because if it goes higher or lower, whatever the hell happens, it’s climate change.If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail-It’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion. Climate change, no matter what happens, you’re involved in that. No more global warming, no more global cooling. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people. But of course, their countries’ fortunes, and given those same countries, no chance for success. If you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.And I’m really good at predicting things, you know? They actually said during the campaign, they had a hat, the best-selling hat: “Trump was right about everything.” And I don’t say that in a braggadocious way, but it’s true. I’ve been right about everything. And I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail. And if you don’t stop people that you’ve never seen before that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail.I love Europe. I love the people of Europe. And I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake and they cannot let that happen any longer. You’re doing it because you want to be nice, you want to be politically correct, and you’re destroying your heritage-I’m the president of the United States, but I worry about Europe. I love Europe. I love the people of Europe. And I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake and they cannot let that happen any longer. You’re doing it because you want to be nice, you want to be politically correct, and you’re destroying your heritage.You must take control strongly and immediately of the unmitigated immigration disaster and the fake energy catastrophe before it’s too late. The carbon footprint is a hoax, made up by people with evil intentions, and they’re heading down a path of total destruction.You know, the carbon footprint was a big, big thing a few years ago. I remember hearing about the carbon footprint, and then [former US] President [Barack] Obama would get into Air Force One, a massive Boeing-747. And not a new one, an old one with old engines that spew everything into the atmosphere. He talked about, “The carbon footprint, we must do something,” and then he’d get in and he’d fly from Washington to Hawaii to play a round of golf. And then he’d get back onto that big, beautiful plane and then he’d fly back, and then he’d talk about again global warming and the carbon footprint. It’s a con job.At extreme cost and expense, Europe reduced its own carbon footprint by 37 percent. Think of that. Congratulations, Europe, great job. You cost yourself a lot of jobs, a lot of factories closed, but you reduced the carbon footprint by 37 percent. However, for all of that sacrifice and much more, it’s been totally wiped out, and then some, by a global increase of 54 percent, much of it coming from China and other countries that are thriving around China, which now produces more CO2 [carbon dioxide] than all the other developed nations in the world. So all of these countries are working so hard on the carbon footprint, which is nonsense, by the way. It’s nonsense.You know, it’s interesting. In the United States, we have still radicalized environmentalists, and they want the factories to stop. “Everything should stop. No more cows. We don’t want cows anymore.” I guess they want to kill all the cows. They want to do things that are just unbelievable. And you have it too. But you know, we have a border, strong, and we have a shape. And that shape doesn’t just go straight up. That shape is amorphous when it comes to the atmosphere. And if we had the most clean air, and I think we do. We have very clean air. We have the cleanest air we’ve had in many, many years.But the problem is that other countries, like China, which has air that’s a little bit rough, it blows. And no matter what you’re doing down here, the air up here tends to get very dirty because it comes in from other countries where their air isn’t so clean, and the environmentalists refuse to acknowledge that.Same thing with garbage. In Asia, they dump much of their garbage right into the ocean, and over about a one-week and two-week journey, it flows right past Los Angeles. You’ve seen it. Massive amounts of garbage, almost too much to do anything about, flowing past Los Angeles, past San Francisco, and then somebody would get in trouble because he dropped a cigarette on the beach. The whole thing is crazy.The primary effect of these brutal green energy policies has not been to help the environment but to redistribute manufacturing and industrial activity from developed countries that follow the insane rules that are put down to polluting countries that break the rules and are making a fortune. They’re making a fortune.European electricity bills are now four to five times more expensive than those in China and two to three times higher than the United States. And our bills are coming way down. You probably see that our gasoline prices are way down. You know, we have an expression: “Drill, baby drill.” And that’s what we’re doing. We’re going to be much lower in a year from now-But they’ve come way down over the last year. As a result, every air conditioner is like, very uncommon to see one in some of these countries, because the electric cost is so high. So while the US. has approximately 1,300 heat-related deaths annually, that’s a lot, Europe loses more than 175,000 people to heat deaths each year because the cost is so expensive they can’t turn on an air conditioner.What is that all about? That’s not Europe. That’s not the Europe that I love and know. All in the name of pretending to stop the global warming hoax. The entire globalistic concept of asking successful, industrialized nations to inflict pain on themselves and radically disrupt their entire societies must be rejected completely and totally, and it must be immediate.That’s why in America I withdrew from the fake Paris climate accord, where – by the way – America was paying so much more than every country. Others weren’t paying. China didn’t have to pay until 2030. Russia was given an old standard that was easy to meet, a 1990s standard. But for the United States, we’re supposed to pay like a trillion dollars, and I said, “This is another scam.”The fact is the United States has been taken advantage of by the world for many, many years, but not any longer, as you probably noticed. I unleashed massive energy production and signed historic executive orders to hunt for oil. But we don’t have to do much hunting because we have the most oil of any nation anywhere, oil and gas in the world. And if you add coal, we have the most of any nation in the world. Clean, I call it clean, beautiful coal.You can do things today with coal that you couldn’t have done 10 years ago, 15 years. So I have a little standing order in the White House. Never use the word “coal,” only use the words “clean, beautiful coal.” Sounds much better, doesn’t it? But we stand ready to provide any country with abundant, affordable energy supplies if you need them, when most of you do. We’re proudly exporting energy all over the world. We’re now the largest exporter.In the United States, we want trade and robust commerce with all nations, everybody. We want to help nations; we’re gonna help nations. But it must also be fair and reciprocal. The challenge with trade is much the same with climate. The countries that followed the rules, all their factories have been plundered. It’s really sad to watch. They’ve been broken. They’ve been broken by countries that broke the rules.That’s why the United States is now applying tariffs to other countries. And much as these tariffs were, for many years, applied to us, uncontrollably applied to us, we’ve used tariffs as a defense mechanism under the Trump administration, including my first term, where hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs were taken in.And by the way, we had the lowest inflation, and now we have very low inflation. The only thing different is that we have hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into our country. But this is how we will ensure that the system works for everyone and is sustainable into the future. We’re also using tariffs to defend our sovereignty and security throughout the world, including against nations that have taken advantage of former US administrations for decades, including the most corrupt, incompetent administration in history: the sleepy Joe Biden administration.Very nice man from Brazil-Brazil now faces major tariffs in response to its unprecedented efforts to interfere in the rights and freedoms of our American citizens and others with censorship, repression, weaponization, judicial corruption, and targeting of political critics in the United States.I have a little problem saying this because I must tell you, I was walking in and the leader of Brazil was walking out. I saw him, he saw me, and we embraced. And then I’m saying, “Can you believe I’m going to be saying this in just two minutes?” But we actually agreed that we would meet next week. We didn’t have much time to talk, like about 20 seconds. They were – in retrospect, I’m glad I waited, because this thing didn’t work out too well. But we did talk. We had a good talk, and we agreed to meet next week, if that’s of interest. But he seemed like a very nice man, actually. To me, I liked him. But if you, and I only do business with people I like. When I don’t like them, I don’t like them. But we had at least for about 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry. It’s a good sign.But also in the past, Brazil, can you believe this, unfairly tariffed our nation, but now because of our tariffs, we are hitting them back and we’re hitting them back very hard. As president, I will always defend our national sovereignty and the rights of American citizens. So I’m very sorry to say this, Brazil is doing poorly and will continue to do poorly. They can only do well when they’re working with us. Without us, they will fail just as others have failed. It’s true.250th anniversary-Next year, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our glorious independence, a testament to enduring power in American freedom and spirit. We will also be proudly hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And shortly thereafter, the 2028 Olympics, which is going to be very exciting. I hope you all come. I hope that countless people from all over the globe will take part in these. These will be great celebrations of liberty and human achievement, and that together we all can rejoice in the miracles of history that began on July 4, 1776, when we founded the light to all nations, and it’s something really that an amazing thing came out of that date. It’s called the United States of America.In honor of this momentous anniversary, I hope that all countries who find inspiration in our example will join us in renewing our commitment, values, and those values, really, that we hold so dear together. Let us defend free speech and free expression. Let us protect religious liberty, including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today. It’s called Christianity. And let us safeguard our sovereignty and cherish qualities that have made each of our nations so special, incredible, and extraordinary.In closing, I just want to repeat that immigration and the high cost of so-called green renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world and a large part of our planet. Countries that cherish freedom are fading fast because of their policies on these two subjects. You need strong borders and traditional energy sources if you are going to be great again. Whether you have come from north or south, east or west, near or far, every leader in this beautiful hall today represents a rich culture, a noble history, and a proud heritage that makes each nation majestic and unique, unlike anything else in human history or any other place on the face of the Earth.From London to Lima, from Rome to Athens, from Paris to Seoul, from Cairo to Tokyo, and Amsterdam to right here in New York City, we stand on the shoulders of the leaders and legends, generals and giants, heroes and titans who won and built our beloved nations, all of our nations, with their own courage, strength, spirit, and skill.Our ancestors climbed to mountains, conquered oceans, crossed deserts, and trekked over wide open plains. They charged into thunderous battles, plunged into grave dangers, and they were soldiers and farmers and workers and warriors and explorers and patriots. They built towns into cities, tribes into kingdoms, ideas into industries, and small islands into mighty empires. You’re a part of all of that. They were champions for their people who never gave up and who never ever gave in their values to find our national identities. Their visions forged our magnificent destiny.Everybody in this room is a part of it in your own way. Each of us inherits the deeds and the myths, the triumphs, the legacies of our own heroes and founders who so bravely showed us the way. Our ancestors gave everything for homelands that they defended with pride, with sweat, with blood, with life, and with death. Now the righteous task of protecting the nations that they built belongs to each and every one of us. So together, let us uphold our sacred duty to our people and to our citizens. Let us protect their borders; ensure their safety; preserve their cultures, treasure, and traditions; and fight, fight, fight for their precious dreams and their cherished freedoms.Let us all work together to build a bright, beautiful planet, a planet that we all share, a planet of peace and a world that is richer, better, and more beautiful than ever before. That can happen. It will happen-And in friendship, really a beautiful vision, let us all work together to build a bright, beautiful planet, a planet that we all share, a planet of peace and a world that is richer, better, and more beautiful than ever before. That can happen. It will happen. It will happen, and I hope it can happen and start right now, right at this moment.We’ll turn it around. We’re gonna make our countries better, safer, more beautiful. We’re gonna take care of our people. Thank you very much. It’s been an honor. God bless the nations of the world. Thank you, very much, bye.

Full text of Abbas speech at 2-state summit: ‘We demand a ceasefire’; Hamas must hand arms to PA-Palestinian Authority president denounces ‘the occupation’s policies,’ urges Israel to enter talks, condemns Hamas for Oct. 7, says Palestinian ‘freedom and independence’ is near By ToI Staff 23 September 2025, 4:28 pm

The following is the official translation of the September 22, 2025, speech by “President of the State of Palestine” Mahmoud Abbas, delivered via video link to the United Nations during the High-level International Conference for Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and Implementation of the Two-State Solution.In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful Your Excellency President Emmanuel Macron,Your Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud,H.E. Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres,Distinguished leaders and heads of delegations,Peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.On behalf of the State of Palestine, I express profound appreciation to the CoChairs, to the United Nations, and to all participating states for the historic New York Declaration issued by the July Conference, which was adopted by an overwhelming majority in the General Assembly, marking the beginning of irreversible steps toward ending the humanitarian catastrophe and the occupation, in accordance with international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, and realizing the independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with the State of Israel in security, peace, and good neighborliness.The Declaration affirmed that the war against our people must end immediately and permanently, and that crimes of siege, starvation, and destruction cannot be a means to achieve security. We therefore demand a permanent ceasefire, the guaranteed delivery of humanitarian aid through the United Nations and UNRWA, the release of all hostages and prisoners, the withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza, and the immediate start of rehabilitation and reconstruction in Gaza and the West Bank through the International Conference in Cairo.We commend the Egyptian, Qatari, and the United States of America mediation efforts seeking to stop the war, and we value the positions of Egypt and Jordan in rejecting displacement—an approach shared with us by the international community.The State of Palestine is the only legitimate authority qualified to assume full responsibility for governance and security in Gaza, through a temporary administrative committee linked to the Palestinian government in the West Bank, with Arab and international support.Hamas will have no role in governance, and it, along with other factions,must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, because we want one unified state, without arms outside the framework of the law, under one legal system, and with one legitimate security force. We reaffirm our condemnation of the crimes of the occupation, as we also condemn the killing and kidnapping of civilians, including what Hamas committed on October 7, 2023.At the same time, we demand an end to settlement activity, annexation,settler terrorism, and assaults on Islamic and Christian holy sites. We condemn the occupation’s policies that isolate Jerusalem, expand construction in Area E1, and promote rhetoric of a “Greater Israel,” which shows contempt for international law and poses a direct threat to Arab national security and international peace. We also condemn the blatant aggression against the sovereignty of sisterly Qatar and other Arab countries, which calls for a firm international response.The State of Palestine is pursuing a comprehensive reform agenda to strengthen governance, transparency, and the rule of law. This includes reforming the financial system and school curricula in line with UNESCO standards within two years, and establishing a unified social welfare system following the cancellation of all previous payments to families of prisoners and martyrs, now under international audit by a specialized firm.We also reaffirm our commitment to holding presidential and parliamentary elections within one year after the end of the war, and to drafting a temporary constitution within three months to ensure the transition from authority to statehood. This will prevent the participation of any parties or individuals who do not commit to the political program and international obligations of the Palestine Liberation Organization and international legitimacy, under international monitoring.We want a modern democratic state based on the rule of law, pluralism,peaceful transfer of power, equality, justice, and the empowerment of women and youth.We highly appreciate the positions of the countries that have recognized the State of Palestine, and we call on those who have not yet done so to take this step, and we demand support for Palestine to gain full membership in the United Nations. It should be recalled that we already recognized Israel’s right to exist in 1988 and 1993, and we continue to do so.In this context, we thank France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia,Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Malta, San Marino, and Andorra, and we recall with respect and gratitude the 149 countries that recognized the State of Palestine early on and shared our long struggle, the most recent being Spain, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and Armenia.We commend the major role of the Conference Co-Chairs, Saudi Arabia and France, as well as the United Kingdom, in mobilizing further international recognitions, and we extend our gratitude to all participating states for their important role in adopting the New York Declaration and advancing irreversible steps toward peace based on the two-state solution under international legitimacy.We also value the role of our brotherly and friendly states that support our cause in international fora, especially Algeria, which currently holds the Arab seat on the Security Council.We appreciate the positions of peoples and organizations that support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to freedom, independence, and statehood. We reject conflating solidarity with the Palestinian cause and antiSemitism, which we firmly oppose, based on our values and principles.We also declare our readiness to work with U.S. President Donald Trump,with Saudi Arabia, France, the United Nations, and all partners to implement the peace plan endorsed at this Conference, within a specific timetable and under international guarantees and monitoring, paving the way toward just peace and comprehensive regional cooperation.In this regard, we call on Israel to immediately sit at the negotiating table to stop the bloodshed and achieve just and comprehensive peace in the region.And I say to the Israeli people: Our future and your future lie in peace. Let the violence and war end. Our generations deserve to live in security and freedom, so that the peoples of our region may live in lasting peace and good neighborliness. On this occasion, I wish all Jews around the world a happy New Year on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah.And to our steadfast Palestinian people, in Palestine and everywhere, I say: the dawn of freedom and independence is inevitably coming.Peace be upon you.

READ THIS TEXT CAREFULLY. HES ONE OF THE CONTENDERS FOR THE FUTURE WORLD DICTATOR.AS WELL AS  A SPANISH LEADER ALSO.SPAINISH KINGS CAN CLAIME THE TITLE KING OF JERUSALEM.

'Nothing justifies continuing the war in Gaza any longer'Full text of Macron speech recognizing Palestine: ‘Time has come to deliver justice’French president, at special UN summit organized by France and Saudi Arabia, calls recognition of Palestinian state ‘the only solution that will bring peace to Israel’ and ‘a defeat for Hamas’By ToI Staff 23 September 2025, 4:07 pm

The following is the official translation of the September 22, 2025, speech by French President Emmanuel Macron, at the podium of the United Nations during the High-level International Conference for Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and Implementation of the Two-State Solution.President of the General Assembly,Secretary-General,Heads of State and Government,Ladies and gentlemen,We are here because the time has come. The time has come for release of the 48 hostages held by Hamas. The time has come to stop the war, the bombardment of Gaza, the massacres and the flight of civilians. The time has come, because emergency is everywhere. The time has come for peace, because in an instant it may be beyond our grasp. That is why we are gathered here today. Some will say it is too late, others will say it is too soon. One thing is certain: we can no longer wait.In 1947, this Assembly decided to divide Palestine, then under a mandate, into two States: one Jewish and the other Arab, thereby recognizing the right of both groups to self-determination. In so doing, the international community consecrated the State of Israel, finally fulfilling the destiny of a people who, after thousands of years of wandering and persecution, were finally able to establish a great democracy there. The promise of an Arab state, however, remains unfulfilled to this day.Since then, Israelis and Palestinians have travelled down a long road of hope mixed with despair, each in their own way. And we have travelled down it with them, each of us according to our own history and sensibility. But the truth is that we bear collective responsibility for failing to build a just and lasting peace in the Middle East thus far.This was the very fact that we were confronted with on 7 October 2023, when the Israeli people suffered the worst terrorist attack in their history. 1,224 men, women and children were killed. 4834 men, women and children were injured. 251 men, women and children were abducted.The barbarity of Hamas and those who collaborated in that massacre stunned Israel and the world. For the Israeli soul and the world’s conscience, 7 October is a wound that is still raw. We unequivocally condemn it because nothing, ever, anywhere can justify the use of terrorism. Today we think of the victims and their families. We offer our compassion to the Israelis and demand, first and foremost, the unconditional release of all hostages still being held in Gaza. We held a national ceremony in France honouring the 51 French citizens who were murdered on that day, and all the victims of 7 October 2023. We will not forget them. Ever. Just as we will never end the existential fight against anti-Semitism.We, the French, know how terrorism can bite. We carry in our hearts the memory of the gesture of brotherhood made by dozens of foreign leaders, the Israeli Prime Minister and the President of the Palestinian Authority at the forefront, who took part in the march following the 7 January 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris.We know that there can be no weakness in the face of terrorists.We also know the dangers of endless wars. We know that the law must always prevail over force. Lastly, we know from our history that the commitment to universality and to peace is a legacy from centuries past and a prerequisite for salvation. I state this in the name of our friendship with Israel, a country to which we maintain an unfaltering commitment. And in the name of our friendship with the Palestinian people, for whom we want the United Nations’ initial promise, that of two States living side by side in peace and security, to become a reality.Yet as we speak, Israel is still expanding its military operations in Gaza with the stated goal of destroying Hamas. However, it is the lives of the hundreds of thousands of displaced, wounded, starving and traumatized people that continue to be destroyed – regardless of the fact that Hamas has been weakened considerably and that negotiations for a lasting ceasefire remain the surest way of securing the hostages’ release.Nothing, nothing justifies continuing the war in Gaza any longer. Nothing. On the contrary, everything calls for the war to be brought to a definitive end now, for want of having done so sooner. To save lives. The lives of Israeli hostages who are still being detained in atrocious conditions. The lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians wracked by hunger, suffering, the fear of death, and grief over their loved ones. To save all lives. Because for two years now, it is the denial of one another’s humanity and the sacrifice of human life that have prevailed. Yes, since 7 October, what has been denied is one another’s lives.We have been saying this since day one of the war in Gaza: all lives are equally valuable. I know this because I have embraced the families of hostages, in Tel Aviv and later in Paris. I am thinking of the mother of Evyatar David, the starving hostage displayed before the crowds by his torturers. I am thinking of Nimrod Cohen, the nineteen-year-old hostage, whose father I just greeted. I also know this from having gone to the bedside of Palestinian victims of Israeli military operations who sought refuge in El Arish. I will never forget the look I saw in the eyes of those women and children. I am thinking of Rita Baroud, who should have been here with us today and who continues to report on the suffering of her loved ones in Gaza. All lives are equally valuable. And the duty that we all have is to protect one another – a duty that is indivisible, just like our humanity.There is a solution that can break the cycle of war and destruction. It is by recognizing one another – every person’s legitimacy, humanity and dignity. Let those on both sides open their eyes again and see human faces instead of the enemy’s mask or a target drawn over them by the war. It’s the recognition that Israelis and Palestinians live in a parallel solitude – the solitude of the Israelis following the historic nightmare of 7 October 2023, and the solitude of the Palestinians, who are completely exhausted by this endless war.The time has come. Because the worst might yet happen, whether it is the loss of countless more civilian lives, the expulsion of the population of Gaza towards Egypt, the annexation of the West Bank, the death of the hostages held by Hamas, or irreversible events that change the situation on the ground forever. That is why…That is why we must, here and now, pave this path towards peace, because since July, events have accelerated at a terrifying pace. From where we stand now, it is to be feared that the Abraham Accords or the Camp David Accords could be called into question by Israel’s action and that peace in the Middle East might become impossible for a long time to come. And so we bear now a historic responsibility. We must do all we can to preserve even the possibility of a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side, in peace and security.The time has come. That is why, true to my country’s historic commitment in the Middle East, for peace between the Israeli people and the Palestinian people, I declare that France today recognizes the State of Palestine.This recognition is a way of affirming that the Palestinian people are not a people too many. And that, on the contrary, the Palestinians are a people – as Mahmoud Darwich taught us – who never give up on anything. A people proud of their history, of their roots, and of their dignity.The recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people does not subtract in any way from the rights of the Israeli people. France has supported those rights from day one and is no less ardent a champion of them. Indeed, we are convinced that this recognition is the only solution that will bring peace to Israel. France has never failed Israel when its security was at risk, including in the face of Iranian strikes.This recognition of the State of Palestine is a defeat for Hamas and for all those who incite anti-Semitic hatred, who feed anti-Zionist obsessions and desire the destruction of the State of Israel.France’s recognition is accompanied by further recognitions that will also be announced today by Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, San Marino and the United Kingdom. I thank these States, who have waited with us for this moment and, by answering the call of July this year, have made a choice for responsibility, for rigour and for peace. This follows the choice made by Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain in 2024, and by many others before.This recognition paves the path for negotiations for the benefit of Israelis and Palestinians alike.This is the path that was set out in the plan for peace and security for all, which Saudi Arabia and France put to the vote of this Assembly, and which was adopted by a very large majority. It reflects our common ambition to break the cycle of violence and to change the situation on the ground. We have succeeded in taking a step closer to one another, in letting go of our traditional stances, and in agreeing on concrete goals. It is now up to us, together, to initiate a mechanism for peace that addresses the needs of all.The first phase of this plan for peace and security for all is one of absolute urgency, which is to pair the freeing of the 48 hostages with the end of military operations across all of Gaza. I commend the work done by Qatar, Egypt and the United States to initiate it, and ask Israel to stop anything that might prevent them from its success. Hamas has been defeated militarily by the elimination of its leaders and decision-makers. It must also be defeated politically to be truly dismantled. Once the ceasefire has been agreed, we must make a massive effort collectively to provide assistance to the population of Gaza. I want to thank Egypt and Jordan for their commitment here, and remind Israel of its strict duty to facilitate humanitarian access to Gaza to help the population who today have lost everything.The second phase will be the stabilization and reconstruction of Gaza. A transitional administration that includes the Palestinian Authority, young Palestinians and security forces, whose training we will expedite, will have the monopoly of security in Gaza. It will implement the dismantling and disarmament of Hamas, with the support of international partners and the resources required for this difficult task. France stands ready to contribute to an international stabilization mission and support, alongside its European partners, the training and equipping of Palestinian security forces. As soon as negotiations allow, the Security Council may decide to deploy a civilian and security support mission, in liaison with the Palestinian authorities, with the consent of the Israeli authorities.The State of Palestine will also have to give new hope to its population, worn down by years of violence and occupation but also division and negligence. It will therefore have to provide its people with a new and secure framework for democratic expression. President Mahmoud Abbas has made that commitment to Prince Mohammad bin Salman and to me. He has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023. He has confirmed his support for the disarmament of Hamas and has committed to excluding it from the future governance of Gaza and the entire Palestinian territory. He has asserted his commitment to fighting hate speech and has promised a thorough overhaul of Palestinian governance.France will keep a close eye on the full implementation of each of the commitments made to it. This renewed Palestinian Authority is a prerequisite to the success of the essential negotiations that must resume to reach an agreement on each of the questions relating to the definitive status. It is within this framework that I may decided [sic] to establish an embassy to the State of Palestine, as soon as all the hostages held in Gaza are released and a ceasefire has been established.France will be no less demanding regarding Israel. With its European partners, it will set its level of cooperation with Israel based on the measures Israel takes to end the war and negotiate peace.This will be the path that will lead us to a sovereign, independent and demilitarized State of Palestine that brings together all of its territories, recognizes Israel, and is recognized by Israel, in a region that will at last live in peace.I also call on those of our Arab and Muslim partners that have not already done so, to uphold their commitment to recognize the State of Israel and to normalize relations with the State of Israel as soon as the State of Palestine is established. In this way, we will demonstrate mutual recognition which will further peace and security of all in the Middle East.This, ladies and gentlemen, is our peace plan. It sets out a demanding mechanism to exit the war and enter a decisive phase of negotiation. With it, Israeli-Palestinian peace will become the first pillar of a new peace and security architecture in the Middle East. It also makes the possibility of greater economic integration more credible.Nothing will be possible if the Israel authorities do not take full ownership of our renewed ambition to finally achieve a two-state solution. I understand their reservations and their fears. I am listening to the Israeli people with great respect and have heard their sorrow and fatigue, and I want to believe that the Israeli authorities will also listen and, in turn, commit themselves. I know that the Israeli people and their leaders can find the strength to do this.I remember when I was just a young man and learned of the tragic assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, nearly 30 years ago, who was killed for seeking peace. Right before he died, this heroic warrior of the State of Israel pronounced these words: “I waged war as long as there was no chance for peace”. This chance exists today. A total of 142 States are proposing this peace with their hands held out, ready to be shaken.Yes, the time has come to stop the war in Gaza, the massacres, the death, immediately. The urgency of the situation demands it. The time has come for Israel to live in peace and security, from Galilee to the Red Sea, by way of the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, and Jerusalem. The time has come for the existence of a State of Israel to never be questioned anywhere so that it becomes something that is self-evident.The time has come to deliver justice to the Palestinian people and thereby recognize a State of Palestine, a brother and neighbour, in Gaza and the West Bank, by way of Jerusalem. The time has come to drive the hideous face of terrorism from these lands and build peace. Yes, build peace, that is why we are meeting here today. And that is the hope that can be constructed. As some are beginning a new year, it is a choice to be made and it is our duty. Peace is much more demanding, much more difficult than any war.But the time has come. 

Spain-His Majesty-Don Felipe VI-King-24 September 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTPjn2nrI-E
Statement summary-“It is precisely at this time of uncertainty that we must read the signs of our time clearly to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past,” King Don Felipe VI of Spain stated, emphasizing that “the United Nations is not only useful, it is indispensable and irreplaceable”.  Believing in the United Nations means believing in the universality of the principles and values enshrined in its Charter and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  “The dignity of the human being is non-negotiable,” he added.  He described a rules-based world as “the best defence against the law of the strongest”, warning that “a world without rules is unchartered territory”.Turning to conflicts that have plagued too many regions, he underscored that “peace in Europe will not be possible without justice and accountability”.  Pointing to the devastation, bombings, famine, starvation and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza, he asked:  “To what end?”  His country is pained by the actions of the Israeli Government in Gaza, he said, stressing:  “We, therefore, cry out, we implore, we demand:  stop this massacre now.  No more deaths.”  While unequivocally condemning the heinous terrorism of Hamas and the brutal massacre of 7 October 2023, he demanded that “the Israeli Government fully uphold international humanitarian law throughout Gaza and the West Bank”.Addressing global challenges, he pointed to the $4 trillion annual shortfall in financing for sustainable development, adding that Spain has increased its contributions to international development.  Human rights, gender equality and the environmental transition are central elements of Spain’s foreign policy, he said, pledging to promote these values through its membership in the Human Rights Council.  On immigration, he said that when properly managed, it can become “a vector of mutual development for countries of origin transit and host countries”.  On climate, he called for “consensus and ambition ahead of COP30 [thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] in Brazil”, urging a tripling of renewable energy and doubling of energy efficiency.

Underscoring that the European Union is “one of the greatest achievements of concord and a model for multilateralism”, he spotlighted the June political agreement regarding the key aspects of the future accord between the European Union and the United Kingdom that respects Spain’s position on sovereignty and jurisdiction over Gibraltar, which will bring “confidence, legal certainty and stability”.Spanish PM seeks full UN membership for Palestine, slams Gaza war: ‘In the name of human dignity, we must stop this slaughter"Pedro Sánchez spoke on the same day that France and other Western countries formally recognized a Palestinian state at the New York headquarters of the international organization, which is holding its 80th General Assembly-New York - SEP 23, 2025 - 04:02 CDT

Pedro Sánchez, one of the first European leaders to take the step of recognizing Palestine in May 2024, has welcomed the fact that key countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have joined him in this position. On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron formally took the step at the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, stating that “recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in no way detracts from the rights of the Israeli people, which France has supported from day one and to which it is no less committed.” Other nations to express support included Monaco, Malta and Luxembourg.For the Spanish leader, this step, which took place in the most symbolic location possible, the UN General Assembly hall, must be followed by another one: for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations, an initiative that is backed by 156 of the 193 UN members, with the United States standing out as one of the main opponents. Sánchez said that the process “must be completed as soon as possible, on an equal footing with other states. This conference marks a milestone, but it’s not the end of the road. It’s only the beginning.”Sánchez, of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), used particularly strong words against Israel’s actions in Gaza. “The Palestinian people are being annihilated,” he said, encapsulating the atmosphere of fierce criticism of Israel from the 40 countries that took part in a summit on a two-state solution co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia.“In the name of reason. In the name of international law, which has its temple in this house. But above all, in the name of human dignity, we must stop this slaughter now. The bombs continue to fall and hunger is killing women and children,” he said.“Today we are taking a crucial step, it is true, by advocating the two-state solution at this Conference. But let us be clear: there can be no solution when the population of one of those states is the victim of genocide,” he added.Earlier that day, Sánchez had spoken at an event at Columbia University, which was the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests last year and has since become a prime target of Donald Trump’s policy of coercion. The Spanish leader discussed immigration, Gaza, and freedom of expression before some 400 students gathered for the World Leaders Forum.Without naming Donald Trump expressly, Sánchez talked about the crackdown on freedom of speech. “When the voice of a society is silenced, it ends up dying. Freedom of expression, of faith, the right to participate in public life, empowers citizens. They are safeguards against tyranny. We must protect these freedoms and prevent them from being used to incite hatred,” said Sánchez.

International community to lay foundations for urgently needed AI governance-By Conor Lennon-25 September 2025 Law and Crime Prevention.

The explosive growth of AI tools around the world has yet to be matched by effective, internationally agreed rules on how this powerful technology is governed. A high-profile event at UN Headquarters on Thursday is designed to bring effective global AI governance a step closer to reality. Investment, optimism and anxiety: these are three of the big drivers of interest in artificial intelligence and its implications. Because the challenges and opportunities are global, the responses also need to be far more comprehensive than the fragmented and siloed solutions that have been enacted thus far: A UN report from 2024 found that 118 countries were not parties to any of the significant “international” AI governance initiatives created in recent years, and only seven nations, all from the developed world, were parties to all of the initiatives.The High-level General Assembly meeting on AI governance, held on Thursday 25 September, marks the first time that all 193 Member States of the UN will have a say in the way international AI governance is developed. This event will seek to address this lack of representation: as well as diplomats from around the world, the meeting will gather together scientists, members of the tech community, private sector and civil society.Artificial intelligence © Unsplash/Igor Omilaev-Building blocks for a new way to safely oversee technological development-The meeting will focus on two new landmark bodies designed to kickstart a much more inclusive form of international governance, address the issues surrounding this powerful technology, and ensure that it benefits all people: the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.Both bodies grew out of recommendations made by a group of experts and law-makers (the High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence) in a 2024 UN report, Governing AI for Humanity and were established through a UN General Assembly resolution in August 2025, endorsed unanimously by all Member States and hailed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as “a significant step forward in global efforts to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence while addressing its risks.”The purpose of Thursday’s Dialogue is to share best practices, enhance the international interoperability of AI governance and share significant AI incidents. The Dialogue, which is expected to become the world’s principal venue for collective focus on AI, will create a shared space for governments, industry, civil society, and scientists to exchange best practices and foster common ground, based on shared principles,The International Panel, with support from the UN system, will provide impartial, evidence-based guidance on risks, opportunities, and impacts of AI, and will help ensure that policymaking is grounded in independent scientific assessments.The Panel will produce an annual report, to be presented at the annual meeting of the Dialogue.“These two global mechanisms are not just new functions,” Amandeep Singh Gil, the UN Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, told UN News. “They are building blocks of a new architecture of technology governance. They are our promise to future generations to ensure that humanity remains at the centre of technological progress."Mr Gil reinforced the groundbreaking step represented by the High-Level event: “AI’s impact is global, but its governance is not. Through the Global Dialogue, for the first time, all 193 member countries of the UN will have a seat at the table in shaping international cooperation on AI governance.”He also explained: “The Scientific Panel will bring together leading scientists from across the globe to narrow the cone of uncertainty around the risks, opportunities and impacts of AI. The Panel will help ensure that AI policy is grounded in impartial evidence.” 

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