Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly denounced his speech as “deceitful” and accused Abbas’s words of encouraging “incitement and destruction in the Middle East”.
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“The occupation (Israel) doesn’t want a (Palestinian) state and the Israeli rightwing government is putting all the obstacles in front of a just peace”, he told AFP after the Abbas speech.
Mahmoud Abbas said the model should be based instead on the type of negotiations that took place in the Balkans, Libya and Iran. Unlike a few of his predecessors, Netanyahu has refused to accept the 1967 line as a starting point.
Israel United Nations Permanent Representative Ron Prosor said at the time of the vote that the move was a “blatant attempt to hijack the U.N”.
In his address to the General Assembly, Abbas urged “countries that have not yet recognized the state of Palestine yet, to do so.” Dore Gold, the director of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said in an interview that “Israel does uphold its agreements”. Analysts don’t expect any surprises from the Netanyahu speech, either.
He also made no specific mention of security co-ordination between his forces and the Israeli military in cracking down on a common foe, the Islamic militant Hamas. Abbas said the Palestinians will keep pursuing legal action against Israel in worldwide courts and with other global bodies.
There was much buildup before Abbas’ speech, fed by Abbas’ aides and his own promise of a “bombshell”.
As a result, all forms of security coordination between Palestinians and Israelis have been canceled, Barghouti said.
Giant screens were also set up for the speech in the northern West Bank city and in Hebron in the south, where dozens of Palestinians marched through the streets and fired shots in the air.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Abbas presided over a packed and slightly chaotic ceremony in the rose garden as Palestinian frustration grows at home and tensions rise in Jerusalem. In 2012 the United Nations upgraded the Palestinian Authority to a “non-member observer state” – the same status held by the Vatican.
Abbas’ United Nations remarks come at a time when the 80-year-old Palestinian leader appears to be losing the backing of the Palestinian public.
According to a Yesh Din statement issued Wednesday, legalizing the outposts – which are located near the Shilo settlement in the occupied West Bank – would likely lead to more Palestinian land being seized by the state and allocated to the outpost.
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“The Palestinian people will not allow the implementation of this illegal scheme, which is an affront to the sensitivities of Palestinians and Muslims everywhere”, he said.
