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Follow Us on TwitterAbbas submits Palestinian-UN membership bid 24Sep11 September 24, 2011
IMEMC - 243 September 2011
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas has submitted his bid for a Palestinian full membership at the UN to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV Network Channel reported Friday afternoon
Abbas submitted the bid to Ban Ki-Moon in his office the UN in an envelope with the Palestinian state slogan printed on. Ki-Moon opened the envelope and took a quick look at it.
“Palestinians will be continuing the nonviolent and popular resistance against the Israeli Occupation” Abbas said during delivering a speech the UN General Assembly Friday evening, warning that “The construction of Israeli settlements undermines the two-state solution and the existence of the Palestinian Authority,” adding that “the continuation of Israeli settlements’ activities threatens the existence of the Palestinian Authority.”
The Palestinian President stated that Israel hit all peace efforts to the wall as a justification of the Palestinian-UN membership bid.
Abbas further expressed that he is ready to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks in accordance with the international reference and halting the Israeli settlement activities and violations.
In a quick response, Israel expressed “regrets” regarding the Palestinian request for a statehood and membership.
The Israeli Prime Minister spokesman, Gedi Hmrling, said that we feel “sorry” for the Palestinian move in the UN, adding that the only way to achieve peace is through direct negotiations, not the unilateral actions.
Friday evening, dozens of thousands of Palestinians have gathered down streets in all cities of the West Bank, waiting for the Palestinian speech at the UN.
Thousands of Palestinians crowded and waved the Palestinian flag in the middle of the city of Ramallah and other main cities of the West Bank, especially Nablus and Hebron, while very huge-sized LCDs have been installed in streets to broadcast the Palestinian President’s speech at UN in New York on live stream.
Earlier Friday, Hamas Prime Minister, Ismael Haniyyah, reconfirmed that criticizes the Palestinian bid, considering that “The Palestinian state could not be established through the UN Resolutions.”
“The Palestinian state should be sovereign, not of the expense of the Palestinian unalienable at the top of which is the Palestinian refugees’ right of return,” He told reporters after the Friday Middy prayer in the city of Gaza.
“States are not establish by international resolutions and initiatives as well…States are freed by their people and establish their entities through resistance, not through compromises and political blackmail that undermine the Palestinian dignity.” Added he.
In addition, Haniyyah condemned the US and European stance regarding establishing an independent Palestinian state, accusing them with “Bias in favor of Israel.”
He also denounced the initiative of the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, by obtaining Palestine an “observer” status at the UN General Assembly as an interim stage, considering “It is a move at the expense of the Palestinian rights.”
“The only alternative for the failure of peace talks with Israel is that Palestinians should agree on a national strategy based on calling for resistance, the Palestinian constants and a diplomatic and political coalition based on the Palestinian constants ” he said.
Haniyyah further called on the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, “to launch a strategic dialogue involving all Palestinian parties to agree on a national strategy “instead of running behind mirage.”
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