Full text of speech from The Times of Israel.
At the United Nations General Assembly Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that “time is running out” on the peace process and that “the current round of negotiations appears to be a last chance to realize a just peace.”
Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that “the Israeli people want peace, and that its majority supports a two-state solution.”
He said his aim in negotiations is to reach a peace accord “within nine months.”
Abbas criticized Israeli settlement construction and called on Israel “to abandon the mentality of force and occupation, to recognize the rights of others, and to deal on an equal footing and parity to make peace. What is required is to stop relying on exaggerated security pretexts and obsessions in order to consecrate occupation.”
He said the goal of the negotiations with Israel must not be an interim agreement.
“Our objective is to achieve a permanent and comprehensive agreement and a peace treaty between the States of Palestine and Israel that resolves all outstanding issues and answers all questions, which allows us to officially declare an end of conflict and claims.”
He said achieving a comprehensive peace between the Arab countries and Israel is “imperative” and opposed a military response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons.
See reports from Haaretz and AP.
