Statehood bid
September 24, 2011
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday asked the United Nations to accept Palestine as a full member state.
In a speech at the UN General Assembly, Abbas explained that his bid was motivated by the failure of peace talks with Israel. He accused Israel of blocking any peace deal by its continued settlement building in the West Bank.
But he maintained previous peace talks were "smashed against the rocks of the positions of the Israeli government, which quickly dashed the hopes raised by the launch of negotiations last September."
Greeted by sustained applause and appreciative whistles as he approached the dais, Abbas said his Palestine Liberation Organization was ready to return to the negotiating table if settlement construction ceased completely.
"This policy is responsible for the continued failure of the successive international attempts to salvage the peace process," he said. "This settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence."
He stressed, however, that he did not want to isolate or delegitimize Israel and said the request for statehood he had submitted was based on the 1967 borders.
Abbas gave the speech after earlier meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present the formal request to the Security Council.
Israel "seeks just and lasting peace"
Shortly after Abbas' address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the podium, telling the assembly that his country sought a "just and lasting peace."
"The Palestinians should first make peace with Israel and then get their state," Netanyahu said.
The Israeli leader said that if there were such a peace, "Israel will not be the last state to welcome a Palestinian state into the United Nations. We will be the first."However, Netanyahu accused the Palestinian leadership of refusing peace efforts. "The truth is that we cannot reach peace through UN resolutions but through negotiations. The truth is that so far the Palestinians have refused to negotiate," he said.
Netanyahu ended his speech with an invitation to Abbas to hold direct peace talks at the UN.
Quartet urges talks within month
Following both leaders' speeches, the "Quartet" of the EU, Russia, the UN and the US issued a statement urging the return to the negotiating table within a month.
"Within a month there will be a preparatory meeting between the parties to agree an agenda and method of proceeding in the negotiation," the Quartet statement suggested.
"At that meeting there will be a commitment by both sides that the objective of any negotiation is to reach an agreement within a timeframe agreed to by the parties but not longer than the end of 2012."
Announcing the statement, EU foreign policy head Catherine Ashton said, "if ever there was a time to resolve this conflict it is now. It is now because Israel worries about its security, because the people of Palestine have waited long for their country."
US and Israeli opposition
Abbas made his application in the face of harsh opposition from both the United States and Israel.
Both countries say that the only way to peace is through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The US has threatened to make use of its veto right on the Security Council.
"When the speeches end today, we must all recognize that the only way to create a state is through direct negotiations. No shortcuts," said the US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.
Israeli and US politicians have also threatened financial reprisals that could cripple the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that if this occurs, the Palestinian Authority could disband, giving Israel the responsibility for ruling the whole area as an occupying power.
This would represent a major liability for Israel.
Hamas rejects bid
The rulers of the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group Hamas, has rejected Abbas' bid for statehood. Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the Hamas Administration in Gaza, said that his people would not beg for a state.
"States are not built upon UN resolutions. States liberate their land and establish their entities," Haniyeh said.
Hamas refuses to recognize the Jewish state.
Ahead of the speech, Abbas said his appeal to the UN was a result of the failure of peace talks between the two sides. While accepting that negotiations are necessary, he argued that statehood would put Palestinians on a more equal footing.
The last round of US-mediated peace talks broke down last September, when Israel refused to extend a freeze on the construction of settlements in the West Bank as demanded by the Palestinians.
Security worries
Thousands of Palestinians followed Abbas' speech on giant open-air screens in cities across the West Bank.
Israel has placed its police and security forces on high alert in anticipation of mass demonstrations.
Ahead of the speech, Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops at several locations in the West Bank. Witnesses said one Palestinian was killed near Nablus in the northern West Bank.
Author: Timothy Jones (Reuters, dpa, AFPE)
Editor: Rob Turner