Friday, September 23, 2011

BAN RECIEVES PA MEMBERSHIP BID FROM ABBAS

Latest update 19:54 23.09.11-Netanyahu at UN: Palestinians can get state only after peace with Israel-PM responds to Palestinians' UN statehood bid, says Israel is prepared to have a Palestinian state in West Bank but doesn't want another Gaza.By News Agencies HAARETZ

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that the Palestinians must first make peace with Israel, and only after get their state, during his address to the UN General Assembly in New York.Israel is prepared to have a Palestinian state in the West Bank, but we're not prepared to have another Gaza there, Netanyahu stressed. The Palestinians must first make peace with Israel, and only then get their state.He spoke Friday shortly after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, defying U.S. and Israeli opposition, asked the United Nations to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of failed negotiations.Netanyahu responded by saying Israel was renewing its hand of peace to countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, but most especially, I extend my hand to the Palestinian people, with whom we seek a just and lasting peace.Netanyahu added that if there was such a peace, Israel will not be the last state to welcome a Palestinian state into the United Nations. We will be the first.It was also time for the Palestinians to acknowledge that Israel is the Jewish state,he told the assembly.He also made an appeal to Abbas for direct peace talks with the Palestinians to begin without delay in New York.Let's meet here today in the United Nations, Netanyahu said.Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed a year ago. The Palestinians pulled out after Israel refused to extend a moratorium on new Jewish settlements in the West Bank.Israel has rejected the Palestinian bid, saying that peace can only be achieved through negotiations, not a unilateral declaration of statehood.U.S. President Barack Obama, echoed these sentiments in a meeting with Abbas in a meeting on Wednesday, saying that UN action would not achieve a Palestinian state and the United States would veto any Security Council move to recognize Palestinian statehood, the White House said.

Netanyahu Slams Abbas’ Speech: Not the Way to Peace-Prime Minister Netanyahu criticizes Abbas' speech, calls him back to the negotiating table immediately.By Elad Benari, Canada First Publish: 9/16/2011, 10:46 PM

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu attacked on Friday the remarks made by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and called him back to the negotiating table immediately.Peace cannot be achieved by going to the UN unilaterally and not by joining the terrorist organization Hamas, Netanyahu said in a statement quoted by Israel’s Channel 2 News. Peace will only be achieved through direct negotiations with Israel.The statement added, The Palestinian Authority and its leader consistently avoid direct talks with Israel. When the PA abandons its futile moves such as unilaterally going to the UN, it will find in Israel a partner for direct negotiations for peace.In a speech he made in Ramallah earlier on Friday, Abbas confirmed that he will ask the United Nations Security Council next week to endorse his statehood bid.We are going to the United Nations to request our legitimate right, obtaining full membership for Palestine in this organization, Abbas said, adding, however, that he did not rule out other, unspecified options. He also acknowledged that his UN move would not end the conflict with Israel.Abbas urged PA Arabs to refrain from violence, saying anything other than peaceful moves will harm us and sabotage our endeavors.Abbas’ confirmation comes as no surprise, after PA Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki announced Thursday that the entity plans to submit its bid for full UN membership with the Council on Friday, September 23.Netanyahu has announced he will personally deliver Israel’s opening speech at the United Nations General Assembly when it convenes on September 20 and that during that speech he intends to tell the truth to those who wish to hear the truth.(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)

Ban receives Palestinian application for UN membership[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (left) submits application to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Palestine to become a UN Member State]Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (left) submits application to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Palestine to become a UN Member State 23 September 2011

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today submitted an application for Palestine to become a United Nations Member State.Mr. Abbas handed over an application to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at UN Headquarters in New York this morning. Palestine currently has observer status at the UN.According to the provisions of the UN Charter, the Secretary-General is tasked with verifying any letter requesting UN membership, after which he sends it to the Security Council and the General Assembly.The application is considered by the Council, which decides whether or not to recommend admission to the 193-member Assembly, which has to adopt a resolution for the admission of any new Member State.Later, Mr. Abbas told the Assembly’s annual general debate that Palestine is applying for full membership of the UN, on the basis of the so-called 4 June 1967 borders.Palestine is being reborn. This is my message, he said, adding that he hoped it did not have to wait long for the application to be approved.

I call upon Mr. Secretary-General to expedite transmittal of our request to the Security Council, and I call upon the distinguished members of the Security Council to vote in favour of our full membership. I also appeal to the States that have not yet done so to recognize the State of Palestine.In his address to the Assembly, Mr. Abbas said that Israeli Government policies were responsible for the continued failure of the successive international attempts to salvage the peace process.He cited the construction of settlements in the West Bank, the refusal of permits for Palestinians to build in East Jerusalem, and the extensive number of military checkpoints limiting Palestinian movement and the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip as examples of such policies.All of these actions taken by Israel in our country are unilateral actions and are not based on any earlier agreements. Indeed, what we witness is a selective application of the agreements aimed at perpetuating the occupation.He stressed that over the past two years Palestinian authorities have worked hard to implement a programme of building up State institutions, as well as strengthening civil society, increasing government accountability and promoting the participation of women in public life.Meanwhile, the Middle East Quartet – a diplomatic grouping bringing together the UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States – is scheduled to hold a meeting at UN Headquarters later today to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.