Palestine calls for full UN membership and a plan to end the occupation
UN Photo/Cia Pak
23 September 2022
President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his appeal for the State of Palestine to become a full-fledged member of the UN, and warned of waning peace prospects with Israel, in his speech to the General Assembly on Friday.
“Palestine, the Observer State in this Organization for 10 years now has proved that it qualifies for full membership. You have all recognized this,” he said, citing contributions that include chairing the G-77 and China developing country coalition.
“We are the exception. We are the only ones in the world on whom double standards are being applied.”
Killings, looting, demolitions
President Abbas began his remarks by outlining how Palestinians have suffered under decades of Israeli occupation.
“Israel is giving total freedom to the army and to the terrorist settlers who are killing the Palestinian people in broad daylight, looting their land and their water, burning and demolishing their homes, compelling them to pay for the demolition, or forcing them to destroy their homes with their own hands, and uproot their trees,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.
He also addressed the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, among other incidents.
The Al Jazeera correspondent was shot in May while on assignment in the West Bank. He said Israel acknowledged that she had been killed by a sniper.
“I dare the United States to prosecute those who have killed this American national. Why? because they are Israelis,” he told world leaders.
Trust ‘unfortunately regressing’
Regarding peace prospects, Mr. Abbas stated that “our trust and the possibility of achieving peace based on justice and international law is unfortunately regressing.”
He said Israel is ignoring international resolutions and undermining agreements and is no longer a partner in the peace process.
“It has and still is, through its current policies, which are premeditated and deliberate, destroying the two-State solution. This proves unequivocally that Israel does not believe in peace. It believes in imposing status quo by force and by aggression.”
He called for the UN Secretary-General to elaborate an international plan to end the occupation in order to achieve peace, security and stability in the region, in line with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
‘A positive development’
Mr. Abbas noted that during their speeches to the General Assembly, United States President Joseph Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, along with other world leaders, voiced support for the two-State solution
“This is of course, a positive development,” he said, though adding that the “real test to the seriousness and credibility of this stance” will be for Israel to immediately return to the negotiating table.
“The State of Palestine is looking forward to peace,” he said. “Let us make this peace to live in security, stability and prosperity for the benefit of our generations and all the people of the region.”
Palestinian leader tells UN there can be no Mideast peace without his people enjoying full rights
Thu, September 21, 2023
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that there can be no peace in the Middle East without his people enjoying their “full and legitimate national rights.”
It was the closest he came in a nearly 25-minute address to acknowledging U.S.-led negotiations aimed at getting Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel. The Saudis have said such a deal must include major progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel’s far-right government has all but ruled out.
“Those who think that peace can prevail in the Middle East without the Palestinian people enjoying their full and legitimate national rights are mistaken,” Abbas said at the start of his address to the U.N.
The 87-year-old Palestinian leader’s speech largely resembled those he has delivered in past sessions. He accused Israel of a litany of violations against Palestinian rights and called for an international conference to revive the peace process.
He said the Israeli occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state “challenges more than a thousand resolutions, violates the principles of international law and international legitimacy, while racing to change the historical, geographical and demographic reality on the ground.”
The Israeli delegation walked out of the hall early in his address, when he spoke about Israel’s practice of holding the remains of alleged Palestinian attackers.
There have been no serious or substantive peace talks in over a decade. Abbas is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, many of whom view his Palestinian Authority as a corrupt pillar of the status quo.
UN General Assembly
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.
No comments:
Post a Comment