Abbas issues emotional plea for Palestinian statehood recognition at UN

GENERAL ASSEMBLY, United Nations- It was a historic, emotional day for the Palestinian people.

Many members of the Palestinian delegation and may others sitting in the hall and balconies of the General Assembly wept as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made his passionate plea for state recognition on behalf of his people.

As a refugee himself, uprooted from his hometown in 1948 when the state of Israel was created, Abbas spoke of the pain of displacement and the suffering of the refugees. "Enough, enough, enough," he said. "It is time for the Palestinian people to gain their freedom and independence...to end their displacement and end their plight."

"This is the moment of truth...we are the last people to remain under occupation," the Palestinian President said.

Abbas was welcomed to the podium by applause, cheers, and a standing ovation by many delegates, not including the Americans and Israelis who seemed isolated by their rejection of the Palestinian decision to approach the United Nations. He was interrupted 15 times by applause and cheers during his speech.

Abbas did not spare the U.S. and Israel from criticism.

"I don't believe anyone with a shred of conscience can reject our application for a full membership at the UN and our admission as a state," he said.

It was obvious Abbas was impatient with Israel's rejection to halt settlement expansion and with the U.S.' inability and refusal to press Israel to accept agreed parameters after 20 years of futile negotiations.

Abbas' credibility was on line. He knew he could not go on negotiating forever. His people gave negotiations a chance and were losing patience.

 The status quo of building more settlements, changing facts on the ground, demolition of homes, the eviction of Palestinians from Jerusalem, and many more actions would have imminently led to violent protests.

The Palestinian President urged his people to use peaceful means to resist occupation.

In an unprecedented move, Abbas warned of the possibility of the collapse of the Palestinian Authority and the death of the two-state solution if the Palestinians continued to be deprived of freedom and independence.

"This policy will destroy the chances of achieving a two-State solution which enjoys international consensus, and here I warn loudly: The settlements policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence," Abbas said.

It was an appointment with history for many Palestinians. For others, such as Abbas' rival Hamas, it was a symbolic move void of content.

An Arab American friend agreed and said" As long as the Palestinians approach the world with emotions, they will never get a state."

A Jordanian of Palestinian origin called me from Amman to say that the speech made him feel "proud, and hoped this UN bid will bring the Palestinians a step closer to their state."
It is not clear what step the Palestinians will take next. But whatever it is, it does not look like they're heading for negotiations with this Israeli government any time soon.

Obama's U.N. speech not about Palestine, but domestic politics

UNITED NATIONS - A last-ditch effort By U.S. officials to dissuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from seeking full membership for the state of Palestine through a U.N. Security Council vote has failed. The Americans are now resigned to the fact that it's too late for Abbas to back down and efforts are now focused on dealing with the day after.

Abbas met U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday following Obama's speech at the U.N. blasted by Palestinian officials as one of the worst they have heard.
Officials who met Obama on Wednesday and who watched him deliver his speech at the U.N. said they saw a "defeated man."

"He sounded like the Palestinians were occupying Israel and not the other way around," a senior Palestinian official said, echoing the sentiments of other angry members of the Palestinian delegation at the U.N. 

Palestinian officials said the meeting between Obama and Abbas was friendly, with each leader holdingon to his position and discussing the day after the vote.

A source close to the U.S. administration said Washington was worried that once Abbas fails to gain statehood membership at the U.N., Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza would take to the streets in anger.
"Why not, if the masses demonstrate peacefully, what does the world have to fear," responded one Palestinian official.

One could sense defeat and probably isolation among U.S. officials.Anger maybe for having failed.

Many observers saw Obama a shattered man as he delivered his speech at the U.N. He was tense and weak, and a disappointment.

An expert on the Middle East said Obama's speech "was part of the election campaign and was directed towards the Jewish lobby not to the heads of state and the General Assembly. It was full of factual mistakes and inaccuracies." 

Abbas may not have intentionally sought to isolate the U.S. and Israel by taking his cause to the larger international forum, but he has succeeded in  exposing the resentment by many international players to the U.S.' monopoly of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and how its bias to Israel has harmed American interests in the Arab world.

It was clear from French President Sarkozy's speech and peace proposal (talks with a one year timeline and upgrading the status of the Palestinians to non-member state at the U.N.) that other parties were willing to jump in and that from now on, the American's may find it difficult to alone dictate terms of peace.
The Quartet, consisting of the EU, the U.N., Russia and the U.S., may play a bigger role in mediating peace, despite their divided positions.
It is unclear whether Abbas' move would invite punitive actions by the mostly pro-Israel Congress and Israel itself. It is too early to say whether this was a calculated move by the Palestinian President or a gamble that would risk relations with the U.S. and some Arab states, and aid. 

It is obvious that this is the first time that Abbas publicly challenges the United States, and publicly invites other international players to have a go at resolving the decades-old conflict.
Whether Abbas' U.N. bid ails or not, the sides will ultimately return to the negotiating table. Israel will come under pressure to resume talks on the basis of Obama's principles that call for a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with agreed swaps of lands between the sides.
"The court is in Israel's court now," a source close to the U.S. administration said.

As the emboldened Abbas walked into the Millennium U.N. Plaza Hotel after Obama's speech on Wednesday, a South Sudan delegate ululated in support. 

Abbas determined to push for state membership, come what may

NEW YORK – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to go all the way!

His mind is set on seeking full membership for the state of Palestine at the U.N. Security Council on Friday.
His discussions with leaders and officials in New York are now focused on the day after the request submission. 
Abbas has told delegates visiting him in New York that following the submission of the state membership request on Friday, he will fly back to Ramallah in the West Bank and discuss options with the Palestinian leadership.
An official close to Abbas said: 
"President Abbas has told all his visitors the Palestinian leadership will discuss three options after the U.N.: Either go to the General Assembly and seek an upgrade in status to non-member state,or return to negotiations without pre-conditions, and the third option is to hand over the keys of the Palestinian Territories to Israel and say now you pay the cost of occupation,which really means a one-state solution."

It is clear the issue of Palestinian statehood has taken centre-stage at the UN this year. Abbas has been holding back-to-back meetings with different Arab and Western leaders and officials,  some supporting his U.N. bid, while many others trying to talk him off the idea of going to the Security Council to avert an imminent U.S. veto.

The U.S. has been consistent in its opposition to the Palestinian decision to approach the Security Council or the General Assembly for full membership and an upgrade of status.

“The Americans are telling us no Security Council, no General Assembly, direct negotiations with Israel only.  We have negotiated for 20 years, we have done what the Americans wanted us to do, and we have knocked on every door to achieve results through negotiations alone. What did we get? Nothing,” a senior Abbas aide said.

The Europeans are divided and so are the Arabs.

Abbas has been cajoled, threatened, pressured, and warned, but nothing has worked with him.

As European pressure failed to deter Abbas, the Arabs began leaning on him.

Abbas, the refugee from Safad, who remembers the pain and agony of displacement as a child in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced to flee their homes and villages that later became part of the state of Israel.

That refugee boy, now 76-year-old President of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and President of the Palestinian Authority, is telling the world that Palestinian statehood is long overdue.

Unlike his predecessor Yasser Arafat, Abbas is not a military man and shuns violence as a means to achieve his goals. He believes he has heeded U.S. advice even when this has damaged his standing among his own people (such as the delay of discussion at the UN over the Goldstone Report).

“He has reached the point where he has no faith in the role of the American Administration as a neutral mediator. Where would he turn to for justice other than the United Nations? So he decided to internationalize the Palestinian conflict  and place the United States and others in the international community before their responsibilities,” another senior aide said.

“He will go to the Security Council on Friday and for him, it’s a win-win situation,” he added.

In New York, U.S. President Barack Obama was busy with the issue of Libya. Both US Republican presidential front-runners Rick Perry  and Mitt Romney were also in New York campaigning. They slammed Obama’s Middle East policy and insufficient support for Israel.

As he meets more delegates at his headquarters at the Millennium U.N. Plaza Hotel in New York, Abbas turns more confident that he would not drop his U.N. bid and would press ahead for full membership. He is listening as world leaders make maximalist and minimalist offers to keep the Palestinians away from the Security Council. 

The Palestinians are also split over the U.N.bid. Some say it is a symbolic move that will cost the Palestinians a lot such as deteriorated relations with Washington, the suspension of much-needed aid, and probably isolation. Others counter it is time words are translated into deed, and those who seek a two-state solution, would have a chance to prove it through a vote.

“Abbas drew attention back to the Palestinian cause as delegates frantically try to come up with offers and new ideas before Friday. He is watching and listening, but his mind is so far made up,” one aide said.