Palestinian bid for place at UN launched to applause

Defying US and Israeli opposition, they hoped the move would re-energise their quest for an independent homeland.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was greeted by sustained applause and appreciative whistles as he approached the dais in the General Assembly hall in New York to deliver a speech outlining his people’s hopes and dreams of becoming a full member of the United Nations.

Some members of the Israeli delegation left the hall as Abbas approached the podium.

Negotiations with Israel “will be meaningless” as long as it continues building on lands the Palestinians claim for that state, he declared, warning that his government could collapse if the construction persists.

“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.”

To another round of applause, he held up a copy of the formal membership application and said he had asked UN chief Ban Ki-moon to expedite deliberation of his request to have the United Nations recognise a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

Mr Abbas’s appeal to the UN to recognise an independent Palestine will not deliver any immediate changes on the ground. Israel will remain an occupying force in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and continue to severely restrict access to Gaza, ruled by Palestinian Hamas militants.

The strategy puts the Palestinians in direct confrontation with the US, which has threatened to veto their membership bid in the Security Council, claiming that statehood could only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties to end the long and bloody conflict.

The US and Israel have been pressuring council members to either vote against the plan or abstain. The vote would require the support of nine of the Council’s 15 members to pass, but even if the Palestinians could line up that backing, a US veto is assured.