Abbas urges UN to accept statehood bid

DEFYING US and Israeli opposition, Palestinians asked the United Nations yesterday to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of failed negotiations in the hope this dramatic move on the world stage would re-energise their quest for an independent homeland.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was greeted by applause and whistles from the delegations in the General Assembly hall as he outlined his people’s hopes of becoming a full member of the UN. Members of the Israeli delegation, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, left the hall as Abbas approached the podium.

In a scathing denunciation of Israel’s settlement policy, Abbas declared that negotiations with Israel “will be meaningless” as long as it continues building on lands the Palestinians claim for that state. He went so far as to warn that his government could collapse if the construction persists.