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Palestine's president in plea for statehood
Source: Agencies |
September 24, 2011, Saturday
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DEFYING US and Israeli opposition, Palestinians yesterday asked the United Nations to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of troubled negotiations in the hope the dramatic move would reenergize their quest for an independent homeland.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received sustained applause after he delivered a speech outlining his people's hopes and dreams of becoming a full member of the United Nations.
Negotiations with Israel "will be meaningless" as long as it continues building on lands the Palestinians claim for that state, he said, warning his government could collapse if the construction persists.
"This policy is responsible for the continued failure of the successive international attempts to salvage the peace process," said Abbas, who has refused to negotiate until the construction stops.
"This settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence."
Rebuffing an intense United States-led effort to pressure him to drop the statehood bid, Abbas said he had asked UN chief Ban Ki-moon to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem and grant it full membership in the world body.
"I say to the Israelis, come to peace," Abbas said.
He said the Palestinians would continue peaceful, popular resistance to Israeli occupation and warned that Jewish settlement construction threatens both to destroy the two-state solution and the survival of his fledgling government, the Palestinian Authority.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Abbas handed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a letter requesting full UN membership, which the Security Council must consider - although this may take some time.
His appeal to the council reflects a loss of faith after 20 years of failed peace talks sponsored by the US, Israel's main ally, and alarm at relentless Israeli settlement expansion eating into the land Palestinians want for a state.
It also exposes Washington's dwindling influence in a region shaken by Arab uprisings and shifting alliances that have pushed Israel deeper into isolation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to take the podium to argue that only direct negotiations between the two sides can lead to a Palestinian state.
US President Barack Obama, who told the UN a year ago he hoped Palestinians would have a state by now, said on Wednesday he shared frustration at the lack of progress.
But he said only Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, not actions at the UN, could bring peace.
Thousands of jubilant Palestinians thronged around outdoor screens in town squares across the West Bank to see their president submit his historic request.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received sustained applause after he delivered a speech outlining his people's hopes and dreams of becoming a full member of the United Nations.
Negotiations with Israel "will be meaningless" as long as it continues building on lands the Palestinians claim for that state, he said, warning his government could collapse if the construction persists.
"This policy is responsible for the continued failure of the successive international attempts to salvage the peace process," said Abbas, who has refused to negotiate until the construction stops.
"This settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence."
Rebuffing an intense United States-led effort to pressure him to drop the statehood bid, Abbas said he had asked UN chief Ban Ki-moon to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem and grant it full membership in the world body.
"I say to the Israelis, come to peace," Abbas said.
He said the Palestinians would continue peaceful, popular resistance to Israeli occupation and warned that Jewish settlement construction threatens both to destroy the two-state solution and the survival of his fledgling government, the Palestinian Authority.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Abbas handed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a letter requesting full UN membership, which the Security Council must consider - although this may take some time.
His appeal to the council reflects a loss of faith after 20 years of failed peace talks sponsored by the US, Israel's main ally, and alarm at relentless Israeli settlement expansion eating into the land Palestinians want for a state.
It also exposes Washington's dwindling influence in a region shaken by Arab uprisings and shifting alliances that have pushed Israel deeper into isolation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to take the podium to argue that only direct negotiations between the two sides can lead to a Palestinian state.
US President Barack Obama, who told the UN a year ago he hoped Palestinians would have a state by now, said on Wednesday he shared frustration at the lack of progress.
But he said only Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, not actions at the UN, could bring peace.
Thousands of jubilant Palestinians thronged around outdoor screens in town squares across the West Bank to see their president submit his historic request.
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