Palestine: President Mahmoud Abbas submits request for UN recognition of Palestine as full member state in world
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday said that “the time has come for Palestinian independence,” in a speech to the UN General Assembly, shortly after he officially submitted a request to the world body for recognition of Palestine as a full member state.
“Enough, enough, enough,” Abbas stated, saying that “63 years of ongoing tragedy must end.”
Abbas called the UN vote on the PA request for statehood a “moment of truth,” in which the world must decide if it will continue to allow “the last occupation in the world to continue.” The PA president held up a copy of the official request for full UN membership to raucous applause from the crowd of world diplomats.
He added that the state in question should have the pre-1967 lines as its borders and east Jerusalem as its capital.
The UN Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the Palestinian application for membership in the United Nations, Lebanon’s UN ambassador said.