Donald Trump has insisted he will “not allow Israel to annex the West Bank”. It comes as Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly. Follow the latest below.
Friday 26 September 2025 06:24, UK
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David Lammy condemned the war in Gaza as “indefensible” at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday.
The deputy PM used his speech in New York to address what he described as the “Israeli-Palestinian tragedy”.
He said: “What is happening in Gaza is indefensible. It is inhumane. It is utterly unjustifiable. And it must end now.
“The people of Palestine, whose state we proudly recognised this week, and the people of Israel, deserve better.”
Lammy, who also vowed to stand by the people of Ukraine and Sudan during their ongoing conflicts, said the UK would work with the US and other countries to secure a “durable” peace.
“There can be no answer except for the hostages out now, aid in now and a ceasefire now,” he said.
“And I vow to you that we will not rest until this day has come and there are two states living side by side in peace and security.”
Donald Trump has insisted he will “not allow Israel to annex the West Bank” as Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in New York to address the UN.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he spoke with the Israeli prime minister yesterday and that the two leaders held good talks on Gaza.
But Trump told reporters: “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. No, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen.”
There were fears that Trump would recognise Israeli control over illegal settlements in the West Bank in retaliation for the UK, Australia, France and others deciding to recognise Palestine.
But Arab and Muslim countries made clear to the US president about the dangers of Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territory, according to Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister.
“Some countries made very clear to the president the danger of annexation of any type in the West Bank and the risk that poses not just to the potential of peace in Gaza, but also to any sustainable peace at all,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told reporters at the UN.
Trump earlier said he believes “some kind of deal” is close in Gaza.
Welcome back to our live coverage of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be the first leader to speak on the summit’s fourth day, followed later by China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang.
Before departing for the US, Netanyahu said his speech, which comes against the backdrop of Israel’s continued war in Gaza, will tell his country’s “truth”.
The Palestinian perspective was represented yesterday by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The 89-year-old delivered his speech via video link after the US banned him from travelling to New York.
Abbas notably ruled out any role for Hamas in a future government of the Gaza Strip during his address and said he wanted to work with Donald Trump to implement a peace deal.
Trump hinted yesterday that “some kind of deal” between Israel and Hamas was “close”.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy represented the UK in New York, calling Israel’s actions in Gaza “inhumane and indefensible”.
We’ll have more on that and plenty more here in the live blog so stay tuned.
Thanks for following our coverage of the third day of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The world’s wars dominated the day once more, in particular the conflict in Gaza as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas took the stage.
Due to a travel ban from the US, he had to deliver his speech via video link, rather than attending the session in Midtown Manhattan in person.
The 89-year-old president surprised observers with an unusually concise, moderate speech, that focused on the “deep wounds and calamity” that Palestinians had suffered over 80 years of conflict.
Here is a round-up of his key points:
Our US correspondent Mark Stone in New York said it was “striking” that the Palestinian president avoided criticising Trump.
Find out why in Stone’s full analysis below:
Meanwhile, Trump suggested that “some kind of deal” between Israel and Hamas was “close” as he met with Turkey’s President Erdogan in the Oval Office.
Outside the Middle East, other leaders used what is essentially their 15-minute window to draw the world’s attention to their pet topics:
Tomorrow, the Middle East is expected to take centre stage again: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be the first to address the assembly after he ordered air strikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa while en route to New York today.
A combative speech should be expected, as he has promised to tell “Israel’s truth”.
In tonight’s edition of The World With Yalda Hakim, Tom Fletcher, who oversees humanitarian affairs and emergency relief at the UN, addresses Israeli claims that his organisation is to blame for the lack of aid reaching Gaza.
“Can you imagine that we would deliberately leave our supplies just sat there?” he tellsSky News’ lead world news presenter, Yalda Hakim.
“We’re humanitarians, it’s our job to get those supplies moving.”
Israel previously accused the UN of failing to pick up aid that was accumulating at the Gaza border.
Fletcher, who was previously a British diplomat, hits back at Israel for imposing “restraints” on the UN’s work, however.
“Flooding Gaza with aid” will be the only way to stop lootings and rein in the black market, he says.
You can watch the full interview from 9pm on Sky News.
Russia and China have asked the United Nations Security Council to vote on a draft resolution to delay by six months the reimposition of sanctions on Iran, according to diplomats.
All UN sanctions on Iran are due to be reimposed tomorrow, after the UK, France and Germany triggered a 30-day process accusing Tehran of violating a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.
But Russia and China will bring a vote before the Security Council on Friday, seeking to delay this process.
The resolution being put before the 15-member UN Security Council needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by either Britain, France or the United States.
Today, diplomats said the prospect of a deal to avert the return of sanctions was slim, according to Reuters.
France’s Emmanuel Macron warned last night that Iran had just “hours left” to strike an agreement – something we covered on this live page.
Britain, France and Germany have offered a delay of up to six months – to allow space for talks on a long-term deal – but only if Iran restores access for UN nuclear inspectors, addresses concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engages in talks with the United States.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has been speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York after the peace treaty he signed with Armenia at the White House last month.
“For many years, I spoke about tragedies of aggression, occupation and injustice experienced by Azerbaijan,” he said.
“Today, I will be speaking about our long road to victory and peace.”
He called it a “new era” in Azerbaijan’s history.
“Another key outcome of the Washington summit is the Trump route for international peace and prosperity,” he said.
“The recent Washington summit has also signalled a new phase in the Azerbaijan-US relationship.
“I want to express my gratitude to Donald Trump for opening a new chapter in the US-Azerbaijan relationship… and for his support to the peace process.”
Meetings at the UN this week have been dominated by Gaza, Ukraine and Russian threats to other nations.
After Donald Trump said in a side meeting that NATO countries should shoot down Russian jets if they violate the alliance’s airspace, NATO chief Mark Rutte has now toughened up his stance.
“I totally agree here with President Trump: if so necessary,” Rutte told US programme Fox and Friends today.
He emphasised that NATO militaries are trained to assess whether they can escort Russian planes out of allied territory or take further action.
Earlier in the week, Rutte had taken a more cautious line.
Sky’s military analyst Professor Michael Clarke explained yesterday what President Trump’s announcement could mean for the war in Ukraine – watch his take on whether NATO would actually shoot down Russian jets below…
By Mark Stone, US correspondent, in New York
Speeches by Mahmoud Abbas can be dense.
The 89-year-old Palestinian Authority president tends to get into the weeds – an understandable habit, given the intractable nature of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
But his style, combined with his age (he is 89) and his illegitimacy (he has been in power since 2005 with no elections since then), make him a somewhat marginalised figure.
He tends to generate eye-rolls rather than prompting people to sit up and listen.
Yet, like it or not, he leads the body – the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) – that must have a key role in the future path for Palestinians.
His speech at the UN today felt a little different. It was more focused, less dense. He clearly recognises the need to hit certain buttons and to avoid the temptations for criticism.
He could easily have criticised Donald Trump. It is Trump who denied him and his delegation visas to come to the UN in New York.
It is Trump who is allowing Israel to continue its war in Gaza. But Abbas chose not to be critical.
He knows it’s not remotely in the Palestinian national interest to be critical of Trump. Instead, he said he looked forward to working with the US president.
Beyond that, in an uncharacteristically concise way, he re-emphasised some important points.
First, he said he wholly rejected the terrorism of Hamas.
“We reject the actions of Hamas on October 7th,” he said.
“They do not represent actions of the Palestinian people or their struggle for independence.”
On the future, he said that the PNA will “bear full responsibility” for governance. “Hamas will not,” he said, calling for them to hand over their arms. “We do not want an armed state,” he added.
He rejected antisemitism and sought to differentiate accusations of antisemitism with the legitimate drive for a Palestinian state living alongside Israel.
Yet he warned that Israel was undermining prospects for a two-state solution with its continued settlement activities in the West Bank.
In the noise and the chaos of the Gaza war – which has now been raging for 720 days – the voice of Palestinians who are not Hamas-aligned has been hard to hear.
This speech was Abbas’s moment to be heard.
“Today we say it clearly,” he said. “Peace cannot be achieved if justice is not achieved, and there can be no justice if Palestine is not free.”
“The dawn of freedom will emerge and the flag of Palestine will fly high in our skies.”
More now on the Israeli strikes on Yemen today, which we first reported at 15.31.
Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the attack while on his flight to the US to speak at the UN and meet Donald Trump, the office of the prime minister of Israel has said.
The attack hit the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
As we explained earlier, Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, president of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, opposes the Houthi militias targeted in the Israeli strikes.
Al-Alimi spoke at the UN this afternoon.
Netanyahu is due to speak at the General Assembly tomorrow.
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