LONDON: US President Joe Biden called for an end to the war in Gaza in his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, adding that the world is at “another inflection point in history.”
Addressing the annual meeting of world leaders and dignitaries for the fourth and final time, the outgoing president called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, warned against an escalation in violence on the Lebanese border, touched upon the need for conflict resolution in Sudan, and talked up the need for international cooperation to tackle issues such as poverty, war and climate change.
“I know many look at the world today and see difficulties and react with despair, but I don’t, I won’t,” he said.
“As leaders, we don’t have the luxury. I recognize the challenges, from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan and beyond: war, hunger, terrorism, brutality, record, displacement of people, climate crisis, democracy at risk.”
Biden, 81, told the UNGA that his administration is working “to bring a greater measure of stability to the Middle East,” adding that the world “shouldn’t flinch from the horrors” of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, but that neither should it accept the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Terrorists invaded a sovereign state, slaughtering and massacring more than 1,200 people — including 46 Americans — in their homes and at a music festival.
“Despicable acts of sexual violence, 250 innocents taken hostage. I’ve met with the families of those hostages. I’ve grieved with them. They’re going through hell,” he said.
“Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell: thousands and thousands killed, including aid workers. Too many families dislocated, crowding into tents, facing a dire humanitarian situation. They didn’t ask for this war that Hamas started.
“I put forward, with Qatar and Egypt, a ceasefire and hostage deal. It has been endorsed by the UN Security Council. Now is the time for the parties to finalize its terms, bring the hostages home and secure security for Israel and Gaza, free of Hamas, ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war.”
Biden added: “Since Oct. 7, we’ve also been determined to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire region. Hezbollah, unprovoked, joined the Oct. 7 attack, launching rockets into Israel. Almost a year later, too many on each side of the Israeli-Lebanon border remain displaced.
“Full-scale war isn’t in anyone’s interest; even in a situation that has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security, to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes and the border safely.
“And that’s what we’re working tirelessly to achieve as we look ahead, to address the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians in the West Bank, and set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution, where the world, where Israel, enjoys security and peace and full recognition, and normalizes relations with all its neighbors, (and) where Palestinians live in security, dignity and self-determination in a state of their own.”
Biden said: “Progress toward peace will put us in a stronger position to deal with the ongoing threat posed by Iran. Together, we must deny oxygen to its terrorist proxies, which have called for more Oct. 7s, and ensure that Iran will never, ever obtain a nuclear weapon.”
He also called for an end to the civil war in Sudan. “Gaza isn’t the only conflict that deserves our outrage,” he said.
“In Sudan, a bloody civil war unleashed one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Eight million (people are) on the brink of famine, hundreds of thousands are already there. Atrocities in Darfur and elsewhere.
“The US has led the world in providing humanitarian aid to Sudan and with our partners, who have led diplomatic talks to try to silence the guns and abort and avert a wider famine, the world needs to stop arming the generals, to speak with one voice and tell them, ‘Stop tearing your country apart. Stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people. End this war now.’”
Biden discussed how the conflicts the US entered at the start of the century in Iraq and Afghanistan had been drawn to a close on his watch as president.
“We were attacked on 9/11 by Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. We brought him justice. Then I came to the presidency in another moment, in a crisis and uncertainty. I believed America had to look forward: New challenges, new threats, new opportunities were in front of us.
“We need to put ourselves in a position to see the threats, to deal with the challenges and to seize the opportunities as well. We need to end the era of war that began on 9/11.
“As vice president to President (Barack) Obama, he asked me to work to wind down the military operations in Iraq, and we did, painful as it was.
“When I came to office as president, Afghanistan had replaced Vietnam as America’s longest war. I was determined to end it, and I did. It was a hard decision, but the right decision.”
