29 September 2025 | 11:30 CAT
4-minute read

UN Walkouts, Legal Alliances and the Global Sumud Flotilla

• Netanyahu’s UN speech was met with mass walkouts, highlighting Israel’s growing isolation on the world stage.
• 34 states, co-chaired by South Africa and Colombia, reaffirmed measures like arms embargoes and energy sanctions to halt Israel’s assault on Gaza.
• The 42-ship Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying over 500 activists, is nearing Gaza in a historic bid to break the blockade despite risks of Israeli interception.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the stage to address the 80^th United Nations General Assembly, dozens of delegates walked out of the room in protest—a statement of isolation for the warmonger.

During his speech, 34 Hague Group states conducted a separate meeting co-chaired by South Africa and Colombia. These states reaffirmed calls to ban arms exports to Israel, refuse weapons at ports, and for South Africa to lead a push for an energy embargo. These measures reflect formal commitments, though analyst Moulana Ebrahim Moosa cautioned that “it needs to be seen how far those will be taken,” during this week’s Palestine Report.

The Hague Group’s meeting on the side-lines produced a public “Chair’s Statement” reaffirming international legal obligations to prevent genocide and to hold Israel accountable.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was kept from attending the UNGA in person due to visa denial. In his remarks via video link, Abbas denounced Hamas’s October 7 operation as antithetical to the people’s will and called for Hamas to relinquish control to his administration.

As Moulana Moosa noted, Abbas “said that Hamas will not have a role to play in governance of Gaza … Hamas should hand its weapons over to the Palestinian Authority.”

According to some analysts, one of the UN’s boldest contributions came via Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, who urged the formation of a global armed force to defend Palestinians—asserting that denunciations alone were no longer adequate. Petro’s public participation even included taking to the streets of New York, prompting the U.S. to bar his re-entry.

U.S. President Donald Trump has presented a 21-point plan for peace in Gaza, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages, and a phased Israeli withdrawal. The plan, presented to Arab and Muslim leaders last week, supposedly aims to create a pathway toward a Palestinian state after a transitional period of international administration in Gaza.

The key components include that all detainees held by Hamas must be released within 48 hours of an agreement. In exchange, Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Additionally, Hamas would be removed from power and its military infrastructure dismantled. A transitional administration of Palestinian technocrats, monitored by a new international committee led by the US, would run Gaza until the Palestinian Authority (PA) completes reforms.

Moulana Moosa warned of a possible showmanship strategy behind Trump’s 21-point “day after Gaza” plan — a “good cop, bad cop” approach intended to shift attention away from Israel’s operations on the ground. He flagged tensions over conflicting narratives about which delegations stayed or left during Netanyahu’s speech, and the unclear role of certain leaders such as Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, both in his verbal criticism and his questionable backstage engagements.

Moulana Moosa painted a dire and escalating picture of the situation on the ground in Gaza City. He said that Israeli forces are now moving into key sectors of Gaza City such as Sabra, Tal al-Hawa, Sheikh Radwan, and Nasser, pressing into the remaining population centres where hundreds of thousands are displaced.

Israeli strategy is deliberately divisive: offering to empower local clans and armed auxiliaries in Gaza’s neighborhoods—but striking those who refused. At the same time, the Qassam Brigades said they had lost contact with some Israeli prisoners and issued warnings that they could no longer guarantee safety if Israeli troops did not withdraw in 24 hours. Meanwhile, reports indicate there was a resurgence of resistance attacks across Gaza City over the weekend.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying over 500 activists, is estimated to be roughly four days’ sail from Gaza. The mission, which is one of unprecedented size, seeks to pierce Israel’s naval blockade and is entering what is called the Orange Zone, where past attempts have faced forceful interception.

For the first time, Turkish drones are reported to be accompanying the flotilla in a protective capacity.

Moulana Moosa highlighted a parallel “Freedom Flotilla” carrying European parliamentarians and humanitarian aid.

“That particular fleet carries about 60 people, including French and European parliamentarians,” he said.

He acknowledged strategic frustrations about reduced media attention, loss of momentum, or possible sabotage of some vessels, but insisted these constraints may be deliberate security measures to prevent Israel from pre-empting the mission.

Listen to the Palestine Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.