Ukraine in Arabic | Abbas wants to establish the Palestinian state within 3 yers
KYIV/Ukraine in Arabic/ Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday he will present a plan this week to the United Nations which sets out a new timeline for completing peace talks.
Speaking to students at New York's historic Cooper Union hall on the sidelines of this week's U.N. annual General Assembly meeting, Mr. Abbas lambasted the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories as he appealed to his youthful audience to help the U.S. "rethink Palestine."
"I say today to Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu: end the occupation, make peace," Mr Abbas told an audience in New York.
In a passionate address to students in the Cooper Union hall where Abraham Lincoln once called for an end to slavery, Mr. Abbas said: "The international community has the responsibility to protect our people, living under the terror of settlers, an occupying army."
"We cannot understand how the Israeli government can be so misguided as to fail to understand that the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza that killed thousands of women and children only sowed more hate," Mr. Abbas said.
"This week I will propose to the United Nations a new timetable for peace talks," Mr. Abbas said, speaking in English and winning a standing ovation.
The veteran Palestinian leader is set to address the annual UN General Assembly on Friday.
Palestinian leaders have said he intends to propose a three-year deadline for the end of the Israeli occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The latest peace talks led by top US diplomat John Kerry collapsed in April amid bitter recriminations on both sides.
Palestinian and Israeli officials are trying to negotiate a permanent deal to seal a ceasefire which went into place in late August after a 50-day war in the Gaza Strip.
