US President Donald Trump speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. AFP
During a speech at the 80th UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Trump claimed that Hamas has "repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace."
He added that such recognition would "be a reward for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities, including those of 7 October."
On Monday, France, Portugal, Luxembourg, Malta, and Monaco announced their formal recognition of Palestinian statehood at a UN General Assembly summit on the two-state solution.
They were joined by other nations, including Australia, Canada, and the UK, which had made similar declarations just days earlier.
These new recognitions bring the total number of UN member states that recognize the State of Palestine to over 150.
This recent wave of recognition comes amid growing global outrage and condemnation of the Israeli two-year genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and Tel Aviv’s increasing steps to annex the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
In his speech, Trump alleged that Hamas was repeatedly rejecting Gaza ceasefire proposals despite the fact that Hamas had previously accepted an offer for a phased deal on 18 August, based on terms drawn up by Tel Aviv and Washington.
Additionally, Israel, which has yet to respond, bombed— with US approval— a Hamas delegation in Doha as it was reviewing the latest American proposal.
Trump also attacked the UN itself, saying it is "not solving the problems it should" and is "actually creating new problems for us to solve."
He cited migration as a primary example. "The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders."
"The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them,” he added.
Moreover, he accused Iran of being "the world’s number one sponsor of terror" and said it "can never be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon."
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