Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged at the United Nations on Thursday to work with US President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia, France and the United Nations on a peace plan for Gaza overwhelmingly backed by the world body.
The 193-member UN General Assembly earlier this month overwhelmingly endorsed a seven-page declaration that aims to advance a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians and end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants.
The declaration emerged from an international conference at the UN in July – hosted by Saudi Arabia and France – on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event and have rejected the international efforts.
Separately, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday that Trump had presented a 21-point peace plan for the Middle East and Gaza during a meeting with leaders of several Muslim-majority countries on the sidelines of this week’s UN General Assembly.
Abbas addressed the annual gathering of world leaders on Thursday via video after the United States said it would not give him a visa to travel to New York.
“Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on October 7th [2023] because such actions do not represent the Palestinian people nor their just struggle for freedom and independence,” Abbas said.
“We have affirmed – and will continue to affirm – that Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine, and that we are ready to assume full responsibility for governance and security there. Hamas will have no role in governance, and it – along with other factions – must hand over its weapons to the Palestinian National Authority,” he said. “We reiterate that we do not want an armed state.”
The points he raised are included in the declaration endorsed by the General Assembly.
“We declare our readiness to work with President Donald Trump, with Saudi Arabia, France, the United Nations, and all partners to implement the peace plan” backed by the General Assembly, Abbas said.
An October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas killed 1,200 people and about 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 65,000 people, mostly civilians, have since been killed during the war in Gaza, according to local health authorities.
ROME: Italy and Spain have deployed naval ships to assist an international aid flotilla that has come under drone attack while trying to deliver aid to Gaza, potentially ratcheting up tensions with Israel.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is using about 50 civilian boats to try to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Many lawyers, parliamentarians and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, are on board.
The Italian defence ministry said a frigate that was dispatched on Wednesday, hours after the GSF was targeted on its way to Gaza, would be replaced by another vessel.
“It is not an act of war, it is not a provocation: it is an act of humanity, which is a duty of a state towards its citizens,” Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told the upper house of parliament.
The Italian foreign ministry said Belgium, France and other European nations had asked them to help provide assistance to their citizens.
Italy had proposed a compromise whereby aid supplies could be dropped off in Cyprus and handed over to the Catholic Church’s Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which would then distribute them in Gaza.
However, the Italian delegation rejected that suggestion on behalf of the flotilla on Thursday.
“Our mission stays true to its original goal of breaking (Israel’s) illegal siege and delivering humanitarian aid to the besieged population of Gaza,” the Italian group said in a statement.
Trump says he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday (September 25, 2025) that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. “There’s been enough,” Mr. Trump, apparently referring to Israel, told reporters in the Oval Office while signing executive orders unrelated to Middle East policy. He added, “It’s time to stop now.”Mr. Trump has long bragged about his close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the President has faced pressure from Arab leaders, who have publicly expressed concerns about the Israeli military acting to annex more territory.
Leh remains tense a day after death of four persons
Leh town of Ladakh remained tense on Thursday (September 25, 2025) amid curfew as the bodies of four locals, who died during violent protests, were handed over to the families for last rites. Dozens of locals were also detained in a crackdown on those suspected to have participated in the street protests on Wednesday. The prominent Buddhist group, Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), was engaged by the Leh administration to perform the last rites of the four persons. “The bodies were handed over to the families. As per the family wish, all the four, who belong to different villages, will be cremated in Leh with all respect,” Chering Dorjey Lakrook, president of the LBA and also co-chairman of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), said.
Government revokes FCRA licence of Wangchuk’s organisation
The Union Home Ministry on Thursday (September 25, 2025) cancelled the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration of an organisation founded by Ladakh-based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, citing alleged violations. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also conducting an inquiry involving another non-profit organisation established by Mr. Wangchuk regarding similar allegations.
Supreme Court to examine whether Foreigners’ Tribunals discriminate against rural women in Assam
The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 25, 2025) decided to examine a petition contending that Foreigners Tribunals apply an “incorrect standard of proof” by insisting that women in Assam, who are illiterate, marginalised, marry at a young age, and hail from rural areas, produce documentary evidence of their parental information and birth to establish Indian citizenship.
Supreme Court raps Madhya Pradesh government, CBI over delay in arrest of police officers in custodial death case
The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 25, 2025) castigated the Madhya Pradesh government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for failing to arrest two police officers allegedly responsible for the July 2024 custodial death of 25-year-old Deva Pardhi. The court said that the failure to comply with its May 15 directions amounted to “aggravated contempt”.
India hosting Hasina creates tension in India-Bangladesh relations: Prof. Yunus
India is hosting former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, who killed young people, said Prof. Mohammed Yunus, Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, on Wednesday (September 24, 2025), on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s annual session in New York. Speaking at an Asia Society conversation that was moderated by Asia Society’s President and former Foreign Minister of South Korea, Kyung Wha Kang, Prof. Yunus blamed “one country” for the lack of movement in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and said India did not like the student-people movement that has led to the current downturn in India-Bangladesh relation.
50% of U.P. industries flout norms: report on Ganga pollution
In its recent report submitted to the National Green Tribunal, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) stated that over 50% of the “operational” Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) located across the districts in Uttar Pradesh were not in compliance with the government-stipulated pollution norms. In July 2022, the Allahabad High Court directed the CPCB to test samples from industries in U.P.
Aaditya Thackeray to brief the media on ‘voter fraud’ in Maharashtra
Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray is scheduled to address the media and present data that alleges irregularities in the electoral rolls during the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections. “Our party has found many chinks in the armour and it will bring them out very soon…We will organise a press conference with the data we are working on right now. We are putting it together,” he added.
Connect with workers, build teams, Congress tells leaders
Seeking to strengthen the party organisation at the grassroots level and build a team of dedicated leaders, top Congress leadership on Thursday (September 26, 2025) held consultations with newly appointed All India Congress Committee (AICC) observers for Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Rajasthan as part of the party’s ongoing Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi interacted with them, urging them to connect with the grassroots-level workers of the party.
Air India crash: Captain’s grieving father says investigators insinuated son cut fuel to flight’s engines
The 91-year-old father of the fatal Air India flight’s captain said officials from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) visited him last month and suggested that his son cut the fuel to the plane’s engines after takeoff, correspondence obtained by Reuters showed. Pushkar Raj Sabharwal, emailed the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) last week to say that AAIB officials had visited him at home on August 30 “under the pretext of offering condolences”, and implied his son, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, was the one who moved the fuel switches.
SIT probing Garg’s death takes fellow singer into custody
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday (September 25, 2025) said the State government would approach the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) if the Special Investigation Team (SIT) failed to unearth the facts behind the death of singer-composer Zubeen Garg in Singapore. Hoping that the SIT would crack the case within a fortnight, he urged the people seeking justice for the departed Garg to exercise patience.
Trump signs order declaring TikTok sale plan meets U.S. requirements
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday (September 25, 2025) declaring that his plan to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to U.S. and global investors will meet the requirements in a 2024 law that says the short video app will be banned unless its Chinese owners sell it. The new U.S. company will be valued at around $14 billion, Vice-President JD Vance said.
Trump says U.S. will impose new tariffs on heavy trucks, drugs and kitchen cabinets
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (September 25, 2025) announced a new round of tariffs, saying the United States will impose a 100% tariff on imported branded drugs, 25% tariff on imports of all heavy-duty trucks and 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets. Mr. Trump also said he would start charging a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture next week.
Chinese Premier says U.S. and his country need to ‘work in same direction’
Chinese Premier Li Qiang told a group of American business executives on Thursday (September 25, 2025) that the U.S. and his country need “to work in the same direction” to further what he called “the most important bilateral partnership in the world.” Mr. Li told the roughly 20 executives and others interested in U.S.-China relations that their insights were valuable, and “the actions that you take are crucial.” Journalists were escorted from the room after Mr. Li’s brief opening remarks at the event, hosted by two nonprofit groups, the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
Hamas will have no role in governing postwar Gaza, says Palestinian President at UNGA
The Palestinian President,speaking over video after the United States revoked his visa, told world leaders on Thursday (September 25, 2025) that his people “reject” the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and pledged that the militant group would have no role in governing Gaza after war ends and must hand over its weapons. Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly that Palestinians in Gaza “have been facing a war of genocide, destruction, starvation and displacement” by Israel. His speech came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to New York to give his own address in person on Friday (September 25, 2025).
Diljit Dosanjh bags International Emmy nomination for ‘Amar Singh Chamkila’, film also gets a nod
Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh on Thursday (September 25, 2025) earned a nomination at the International Emmy Awards 2025 in the best performance by an actor category for his role in filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s acclaimed biopic “Amar Singh Chamkila”. Ali’s directorial also earned another nomination, securing a spot in the TV movie/mini-series category.
In his first public comments on the matter, US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. It’s not going to happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked to confirm reports that he assured Arab and Muslim leaders of that stance during a multilateral meeting held Tuesday on the UN General Assembly sidelines.
Trump also stressed that he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the issue.
“I’m not allowing Israel to annex the West Bank,” Trump repeated. “There’s been enough. It’s time to stop now,” he said.
Trump made the comments as Netanyahu was arriving in New York to deliver an address to the United Nations on Friday.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal are among the countries that have recognized a Palestinian state in the last few days in part to help keep the possibility of a two-state solution alive. Israel has condemned the moves.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2025. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)
A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel earlier this week that the Trump administration privately cautioned Israel against annexing the West Bank in response to the recent decisions by Western countries to recognize Palestinian statehood.
However, Jerusalem did not feel that the warning marked “an end to the discussion,” and Netanyahu planned to discuss the matter with Trump during their White House meeting next week, the Israeli official said.
Even if the warning had already been conveyed privately, Trump’s decision to publicly declare he will not allow the West Bank to be annexed is sure to deflate hopes among settler leaders — which reached unprecedented levels following his reelection — that Israel would finally actualize their long-held dreams of annexation.
Without US support, Israel is much less likely to go ahead with the move, which would have diminished significance without backing from the world’s leading superpower and spark massive international backlash. A top Emirati official warned in an exclusive interview with The Times of Israel earlier this month that annexation would be a “red line” that would mark the “end” of regional integration.
BREAKING: Trump:
I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. No, I will not allow, not going to happen.
Trump’s announcement could also spell trouble for Netanyahu’s government, whose far-right partners have made annexation a central aim and may be more inclined to collapse the coalition if annexation is now out of reach.
‘Close’ to a deal in Gaza
Earlier Thursday, Trump said that the US is “close to getting some kind of deal done” in the Gaza Strip after his “great” multilateral meeting in New York with the leaders of eight Arab and Muslim countries on the issue.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during the public portion of his sit-down with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that “a lot was determined in that meeting” on Tuesday, during which Trump presented a 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza and establishing a non-Hamas body to govern the Strip.
“I have to meet with Israel. They know what I want. I think we can get that one done. I hope we can get that done. A lot of people are dying,” Trump said.
US President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, September 25, 2025, in Washington, DC. (AP/Evan Vucci)
“I’m going to have to tell Israel, ‘Let’s go,’” Trump added, indicating that he might exert some pressure on Netanyahu when they meet in Washington on Monday.
In the meantime, Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed US efforts to end the war and free the hostages in Gaza with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at the hotel where the Israeli premier is staying in New York. Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly on Friday at about 4 p.m. Israel time.
“We want to get the hostages back,” Trump continued. “We want them all back at one time.”
Trump said steps regarding Gaza could be taken “today,” without elaborating.
“Everyone wants to see that war over with. We’re going to see what happens,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly predicted that a Gaza ceasefire is imminent throughout his second administration, only for talks to subsequently hit snags.
But those hiccups didn’t prevent Witkoff from expressing his own optimism on Wednesday, saying that he expected a “breakthrough” within days following Trump’s multilateral meeting on Tuesday with Arab and Muslim leaders.
While Witkoff has not revealed details of the plan, a position paper on the issue, which was given to the countries, laid out steps towards ending the war in Gaza and establishing a non-Hamas body to govern the Strip.
Trump’s team is pushing Netanyahu to agree to the 21-point plan, according to Channel 12 news, which said that the premier was briefed on the framework “days ago,” and that he and Dermer “did not like” all of its points.
“Continuing the war will isolate Israel even further, but accepting the plan and ending the war will extricate Israel from isolation and enable progress in more positive directions in the region, with US backing,” a US source told the network on Thursday.
However, the report said Netanyahu is uncomfortable with the fact that Trump’s plan does not require Hamas to disarm and Gaza to be demilitarized as conditions for the war ending, but only post-war.
Smoke rises from Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike, September 24, 2025. (Fathi Ibrahim/Flash90)
He also does not like the provision that the new mechanism for governing Gaza will operate under the authority of the UN Security Council, the television report added.
The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was a key player in Trump’s 2020 Deal of the Century peace plan and the Abraham Accords, was heavily involved in creating the framework along with former British prime minister Tony Blair. Kushner was filmed accompanying Witkoff to the meeting with Netanyahu and Dermer on Thursday.
אחרי האופטימיות של טראמפ לעסקה: השליח וויטקוף וקושנר חתנו של טראמפ, הגיעו להפגש עם נתניהו במלון שבו הוא שוהה בניו יורק
The White House plan is based heavily on the one crafted by Blair and revealed by The Times of Israel last week. The former UK premier has been holding marathon meetings with regional leaders to rally support for his initiative, which would establish a transitional governing body that can administer Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is ready to take over.
Citing people briefed on the proposal, the Financial Times said Thursday that Blair is seeking a senior role in running postwar Gaza and has been proposed to chair a supervisory board called the “Gaza International Transitional Authority.” The Haaretz daily said earlier in the day that the US is interested in having Blair head up the GITA’s international advisory board.
Channel 12 reported on Wednesday evening that senior Israeli officials do not believe that Trump 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.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks via video during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2025. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)
PA urging countries to stage walkout during Netanyahu’s UN speech
Channel 12 also reported Thursday that the Palestinian Mission to the UN is working to arrange a walkout during Netanyahu’s speech on Friday, which they hope will be joined by Arab, African and even some European countries.
A source familiar with the details of Netanyahu’s speech told The Times of Israel that it will primarily focus on sharp criticism of European countries that have recently recognized a Palestinian state, saying the move benefits Hamas.
Netanyahu’s ire will be focused primarily on France, according to the source.
He will also pivot to the opportunities in a new Middle East after the defeat of Hamas, especially with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Netanyahu, not surprisingly, will express Israel’s gratitude to Trump, the source added.
Israeli anti-government activists protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York City, September 25, 2025. (Courtesy)
Outside Netanyahu’s hotel in New York, around a dozen Israeli anti-government activists protested on Thursday, holding signs reading, “Save Israel from Netanyahu,” “Stop the war,” and “Free them all.”
Chanting “Bring them home,” and “There is no military solution,” the protesters said they seek an end to the war and the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
According to organizers, the families of several hostages will also lead a protest outside the UN Headquarters Friday as Netanyahu addresses the General Assembly.
Non-Jewish anti-Israel activist groups have also been protesting at the UN and have announced a large demonstration for Friday morning around the same time.
The White House is backing a plan that would see Tony Blair head a temporary administration of the Gaza Strip – initially without the direct involvement of the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to Israeli media reports.
Under the proposal, Blair would lead a body called the Gaza International Transitional Authority (Gita) that would have a mandate to be Gaza’s “supreme political and legal authority” for as long as five years.
According to reports in Haaretz and the Times of Israel, the plan is modelled on the administrations that initially oversaw Timor-Leste and Kosovo’s transitions to statehood. The proposal suggests that Gita could at first be based in el-Arish, an Egyptian provincial capital near Gaza’s southern border, and would eventually enter the territory accompanied by a UN-endorsed, largely Arab multinational force. The plan envisions “the eventual unifying of all the Palestinian territory under the PA”.
Under the plan, Palestinians would not be made to leave the territory, as had been feared would occur under previous US proposals to develop it as the “Gaza Riviera”.
If approved, Blair would head a secretariat of up to 25 people and chair a seven-person board to oversee an executive body running the territory.
But any role for the former Labour leader would inevitably prompt intense controversy. After stepping down as prime minister in 2007, he took on the role of Middle East envoy until 2015 and he enjoys a high standing with many Gulf leaders. But Blair is bitterly resented by many Palestinians – who see him as having impeded their efforts to attain statehood – and more broadly across the region for his role in backing the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
Some western diplomats stressed it was by no means a done deal that Blair would run the interim Palestinian administration, and said it might be in place for only two years.
They added the Trump plan for the day after is linked to a ceasefire and full hostage deal.
News of the plan emerged just days after the UN general assembly endorsed a different plan for a technocratic administration to take charge in Gaza. Under that proposal, known as the New York declaration, the interim administration would operate for just one year, on the clear understanding that it would then hand power to a reformed PA with a revised constitution and after elections for a new president and parliament.
The lack of a clear timeline for a transition to PA control under the White House plan is seen as a potential roadblock to its endorsement by Palestinians and Arab leaders. But that lack of specificity, and the presence of Blair, would be seen as a reassurance for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The White House sees the new plan as a compromise between Donald Trump’s own initial proposal for the US and Israel to “take over” Gaza and theNew York declaration endorsed by more than 140 states. Trump’s previous suggestions that the US and Israel could “clean out” Palestinians from Gaza would amount to an ethnic cleansingof the population of about 2 million people. Under the new plan, Palestinians would not be encouraged to leave the territory, according to the reports.
A broad version of the US-backed plan was laid out by Trump at a meeting in New York on Wednesday with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani; the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud; King Abdullah II of Jordan; the president of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto; and Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Trump said the meeting had been successful, adding “we’re close to getting some kind of deal done”.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has been trying to reconcile the two proposals.
Arab states have said they will only contribute to a UN-mandated international peacekeeping force if there is a clear political timeline to the formation of a Palestinian state, and some may argue that the Blair plan does not set out an irreversible course to statehood, but instead represents a different, more benign occupation than that provided by Israel.
Gita would have a board made up of seven to 10 members, who will include “at least one qualified Palestinian representative (potentially from the business or security sector)”, a senior UN official, leading international figures with executive or financial experience, and a “strong representation of Muslim members”.
Reporting to an executive secretariat would be a group of five commissioners who will supervise key areas of Gaza governance: humanitarian affairs, reconstruction, legislation and legal affairs, security and PA coordination.
Notably, the plan states that the commissioner overseeing humanitarian affairs will be responsible for coordinating with humanitarian agencies, including the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which most Arab states and humanitarian agencies insist must be dismantled.
skip past newsletter promotion
after newsletter promotion
A Palestinian Authority coordination commissioner would be tasked to “ensure that the decisions of Gita and those of the PA are, so far as possible, aligned and consistent with the eventual unifying of all the Palestinian territory under the PA”.
The commissioner would also “track PA reform efforts in coordination with international donors, financial institutions and Arab partners engaged in Palestinian institutional development”.
A separate Palestinian Executive Authority would interface more directly with Palestinians by delivering services “through a nonpartisan, professional administration”.
The PEA will be headed by a CEO formally appointed by the Gita board and will be responsible for overseeing a series of technocratic ministries, including health, education, finance, infrastructure, judicial affairs and welfare.
The PEA would also receive reports from the Gaza municipalities, which would be responsible for delivering services at the local level; a Gaza civil police force of “nationally recruited, professionally vetted and nonpartisan” officers tasked with maintaining public order and protecting civilians; a judicial board chaired by an Arab jurist who will supervise Gaza’s courts and public prosecution office; and the aforementioned “Property Rights Preservation Unit”.
In an attempt to assuage fears that the plan will lead to tens of thousands of Palestinians being forced out of Gaza during the reconstruction, a “property rights preservation unit” would be established, aimed at ensuring that any voluntary departure of Palestinians from Gaza does not compromise their right to return to the territory or retain property ownership.
Addressing the UN general assembly on Thursday, Mahmoud Abbas, the PA president, said Hamas would have no role in the postwar governance of Gaza – a key condition of Israel and the US. However, Abbas and the Palestinian Authority only administer the West Bank, and do not have a direct role in negotiations over a ceasefire or postwar planning for Gaza.
He said that Gaza was an “integral part of the state of Palestine, and that we are ready to bear full responsibility for governance and security there”.
Abbas addressed the gathering by video conference after his visa was revoked by the US in the run-up to the 80th session of the UN general assembly.
On Thursday evening at the White House, Trump pushed back strongly on any suggestion Israel could annex parts of the West Bank. He said: “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope. I won’t allow it. It’s not going to happen.”
