Agencies, United Nations :
President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the UN to declare 2017 the year “to end the Israeli occupation” of Palestinian land and people, saying that Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank is destroying any hope of a two-state solution.
During a speech before the UN General Assembly on Thursday, the Palestinian president urged the international community to exert greater effort than before to establish a truly independent Palestinian state, as the 50th anniversary of Israel’s “abhorrent” occupation approaches in June next year.
“Those who believe in the two-state solution should recognise both states, and not just one of them,” Abbas said.
Most member states of the UN have already recognised the state of Palestine, but Israel and a number of other countries, including the UK, the US and Germany, have not.
“Israel must recognise the state of Palestine and put an end to its occupation of our land so the state of Palestine can co-exist alongside the state of Israel in peace and security as good neighbours,” he said.
“We extend our hands to those who want to build peace. But the question remains and persists: is there any leadership in Israel, the occupying power, that desires to make a true peace?” he asked.
Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from West Jerusalem, said Abbas used “much tougher” diplomatic language in his speech, compared to speeches in the past.
“He talked about making 2017 the year Palestine is finally recognised and the occupation comes to an end,” our correspondent said.
“He [also] made clear that the settlements are an obstacle for peace.”
Earlier, Abbas, who has been Palestinian president for 11 years, had told representatives at the UN assembly in New York that Israel’s pursuit of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank “will destroy whatever possibility is left for the two-state solution along the 1967 borders”.
In late August, the US said it was “deeply concerned” following an announcement that Israel had approved the construction of 463 homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the Security Council in August that Israeli settlement expansion had surged in the past two months.
