Palestinian Authority envoy withdraws UN General Assembly presidential bid after US, Israeli pressure

Palestinian Authority (PA) UN envoy Riyad Mansour withdrew his candidacy on Wednesday for president of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) following diplomatic pressure from the United States and Israel.

The PA's exit from the race means the next UNGA president is now expected to be either Cyprus UN ambassador Andreas Kakouris or Bangladesh official, Mohammad Touhid Hossain.

The head of the UN General Assembly holds a largely ceremonial role, as its resolutions are not legally binding. However, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, blasted Mansour’s candidacy in a post on 𝕏, calling it “yet another attempt to turn the UN General Assembly into a political circus against Israel and to bolster the status of the Palestinian delegation through the back door.”

He added that the Palestinian delegation should instead focus on “stopping incitement of terrorism and on actually reforming the Palestinian Authority.”

“Instead of promoting the goals of the United Nations and preserving the unifying character of the General Assembly, there was a cynical attempt to turn it into a platform for anti-Israel propaganda,” Danon argued.

He further criticized Mansour for “self-promotion and the systematic erosion of the credibility of the international institution” instead of properly representing the population living under the PA's jurisdiction.

Mansour has so far not disclosed publicly why he eventually withdrew his candidacy.

He has been a vocal critic of Israel at the United Nations. During a Security Council session last week, Mansour said Israel had “chosen annexation over peace” and called on the international community to “stop it now,” quoting Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who has publicly called for incorporating Judea and Samaria (West Bank) into Israel proper.

Earlier this month, the Israeli Cabinet approved a new registration process for land in Judea and Samaria, a move that critics slammed as “de facto annexation.” Mansour condemned Smotrich and claimed that Israeli political leaders speak of controlling the territory “from the river to the sea,” a phrase widely associated with calls for Israel’s elimination.

Israelis are divided over the future of Judea and Samaria. Even among those who previously supported a two-state solution, the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre significantly reduced public confidence that such a diplomatic move would lead to lasting peace.

Mansour argued that the international community should support a two-state solution “in deeds, not words” – asserting that Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, form the territory of a Palestinian state. Without concrete action, he warmed, the two-state solution risks becoming what he called “the illusion of two states.”