President Donald Trump told world leaders Tuesday that recognizing a Palestinian state would reward Hamas, as he used his United Nations General Assembly speech to demand the release of hostages held in Gaza and boast of U.S. achievements.
“Recognizing the Palestinian state is too great a prize for Hamas terrorists,” Trump said during his more than 20-minute address. He repeated calls to free the hostages several times and questioned the UN’s effectiveness.
He asked, “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” and said it just writes “strong letters” and “empty words.”
Reports say that at least 18 people died in bombings in Gaza as the speech was going on. Israel did not go to a UN Security Council meeting about the crisis since it was the Jewish New Year holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres started the meeting by saying that the level of destruction in Gaza was worse than any other conflict in the last ten years. He stressed the need for international law.
Trump attacked his predecessor, Joe Biden, for leaving a “disastrous country.” He touted America’s revival, declaring it “the sexiest country in the world” with the strongest economy, borders, military and spirit. Trump claimed the current economy surpasses the one from his previous term.
He bragged of ending seven wars in his first eight months back in office but said Ukraine resisted resolution. “Of the seven wars I’ve ended, I thought the one in Ukraine would be the easiest,” Trump said, citing his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He proposed sanctioning oil purchases by China and India to pressure Russia.
On global threats, Trump pledged to combat biological weapons—linking them vaguely to the pandemic—and promote a convention against them. He called for halting nuclear weapons development, even as the U.S. upgrades its arsenal.
The address drew little applause, mostly silence except for cheers from Israel’s delegation on the hostage issue. Trump spoke without a teleprompter due to a malfunction, reading from papers and joking about it alongside a broken elevator.
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