تأييد أممي يسمح للرئيس الفلسطيني بالتحدث إلى «الجمعية» عبر الفيديو

The United Nations General Assembly voted today (Friday) in favor of allowing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to deliver a speech via video technology at the annual meeting of world leaders (Thursday) and the Two-State Solution Conference (Monday), just days after Washington announced it would not grant him and his accompanying delegation a visa to enter New York. The decision received 145 votes in favor, with five against, while six countries abstained from voting.

The draft resolution stipulates that the Palestinian president is allowed to present a pre-recorded statement, which will be shown in the main hall during discussions of the United Nations General Assembly in its eightieth session. The draft also allows the State of Palestine to present statements via video conferencing or pre-recorded during the Two-State Solution Conference.

The draft resolution indicated the possibility for Palestine to participate in other United Nations meetings through the same mechanism, expressing regret over the U.S. authorities' decision to refuse to grant visas and revoke others for the Palestinian delegation, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, which prevented them from participating in person in this session.

This decision, adopted by the General Assembly, is valid for only one year during the eightieth session of the General Assembly, and it should not set a precedent to be followed in the future.

It is worth noting that the United Nations General Assembly requires the physical presence of leaders when delivering their speeches; however, in 2020, it made an exception to this rule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.