Palestine has taken center stage at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level week, overshadowing other global crises as leaders prepare to address the 80th session.

Ahead of Tuesday’s formal opening, a special summit on Palestinian statehood has dominated the agenda. On Sunday, Britain and several Western nations recognized Palestine, joining 152 of 193 UN members — including India — that already extend recognition. France is expected to announce its recognition on Monday, co-hosting the summit with Saudi Arabia.

However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not attend after being denied a US visa. In response, the Assembly voted 145–5, with six abstentions, to allow him to address the summit via video. The US and Israel, joined by three others, opposed the move.

The growing support for Palestine reflects frustration with Israel’s Gaza offensive, which has killed about 75,000 people, mostly civilians, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of expanded settlements in the West Bank. Still, Palestine’s UN membership bid faces a certain US veto, limiting the momentum to symbolic gains.

The focus on Palestine has sidelined other pressing issues, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ UN80 reform plan to streamline operations around peace, development, and human rights. The session’s theme, “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,” risks being drowned out by geopolitical divides.

Notably absent are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. By tradition, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will open the debate, followed by US President Donald Trump, whose speech is expected to set the tone amid trade wars and global polarization.

Meanwhile, real diplomacy is unfolding in bilateral and multilateral side meetings, as leaders attempt to navigate a shifting international order.