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Mahmoud Abbas Addresses U.N. General Assembly; Abbas Addresses U.N.; Palestinians Rally For Statehood

Aired September 23, 2011 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

Want to get you up to speed.

High noon means high drama. That, at the United Nations. We expect the Palestinian leader at the podium just in a moment now. Mahmoud Abbas, he's going to ask the U.N. to recognize Palestine as a sovereign country.

Now, just moments ago, he handed a formal letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Israel and the U.S. oppose this move. They want Palestinians to achieve statehood through peace talks with Israel so they can have a greater say in the outcome. If Abbas puts the measure before the Security Council, the U.S. says it's going to block it.

So, this is all playing out on the streets now. Young Palestinians who want statehood threw rocks and bottles at Israeli border guards. That's happening today. The Israelis responded with rubber bullets and stun grenades.

President Abbas has called for protesters to keep things peaceful. Israel has put additional forces along the border in case things get out of hand.

So, Pakistan now absolutely furious over accusations by the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. For the first time publicly, he is accusing Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI, of supporting the insurgents who attacked the U.S. Embassy in Kabul just last week, among others. It was carried out by the Haqqani network. That is a group that is closely tied to the Taliban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: The Haqqani network, for one, acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Internal Services Intelligence Agency. With ISI support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted that truck bomb attack, as well as the assault on our embassy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, these aren't the first allegations that Pakistan was helping terrorists, but Mullen, he is the highest ranking U.S. official to make those claims so forcefully and so publicly.

Well, Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped when she was a child, held for 18 years, is suing now the federal government. She claims that federal parole officers failed to keep track of her kidnapper.

Phillip Garrido was on parole for a kidnapping and rape conviction when he took Dugard, and the lawsuit says that parole officers visited his home just a dozen times in a decade. Dugard was being held in the back yard, but the parole officers never found her.

Teachers in Acapulco, Mexico, are on the streets. They're not in the classrooms. They say police first must provide more security before they go back to work. Drug violence is growing in Acapulco, and teachers say that they are afraid for themselves and their students.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Allow us to return both our schools an our homes to normal. That's all we're asking for. We don't think that's too much to ask for. We're asking for something that anybody anywhere in the world would want -- peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Teachers say that 75 schools in the Acapulco area have received threats since the academic year began just a few weeks ago.

Well, Brian Stowe, he's the paramedic who was savagely beaten outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in March. He's talking now for the first time since that attack.

The family's Web site says he was able to say his children's names and even to ask to see them. Relatives say they're blown away. Stowe was kicked, he was punched repeatedly in the head, leaving him in a coma for months. Two suspects have pleaded not guilty to that attack.

Well, this is the hour that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has been waiting for. Now, he's expected to speak before the United Nations General Assembly. That's in a minute now or so.

He's going to make a formal request for Palestinian statehood. It's going to need to pass a vote by the Security Council, but if or when that happens, the United States still has pledged to veto that.

So, the U.S., it's one of five countries with veto power. The others, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom.

CNN Senior United Nations Correspondent Richard Roth, he's joining us again live from the United Nations to provide some perspective.

So, Richard, just moments ago what we saw here was Abbas handing this formal letter to the U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, requesting statehood. Tell us why he's doing this now. Why is this an important, significant moment for the possibility of this happening?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you become a state, you are granted a lot of powers. And should it even come to it, if they indeed got statehood, you could have the Palestinians asking the U.N. for help if they felt Israel was attacking them. Israel could certainly make the same claim.

You have a huge powder keg among other issues. But it doesn't seem like it will come to that in a quick way, because the United States has said it's going to veto any statehood bid in the Security Council.

Now, right now, in the General Assembly hall, we're listening to the president of Armenia. They have been switching speaking slots. But this will still be an historic moment.

I mean, the Palestinians want to kick-start any type of movement, desperate, they say, that there is no progress for their situation while they have watched demonstrators topple governments in the region. Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, possibly Yemen, Syria, the struggle goes on. So they're saying, what about us? And the Palestinian dignitary, Nabil Sha'ath, he's even saying, look, we're not the Mafia, we deserve our own state.

Back to you.

MALVEAUX: So, Richard, why is the United States against this?

ROTH: The U.S. thinks that the only way there will be a Middle East peace -- and this has been something the U.S. has insisted on for a lengthy time -- can only be face-to-face talks that will resolve this, not an international organization imposing something on the parties. Israel has no faith in the United Nations, doesn't think statehood is a productive way, and it will only incite violence.

The United States says you've got to talk face to face. Israel and the Palestinians have a host of issues, from settlement activity which the Palestinians insist must be stopped in order for them to start talking. The Israelis say, yes, we'll talk any time, anywhere, but these always end up leading to nowhere. Border disputes, all kinds of status, refugees.

MALVEAUX: Right. So, Richard, what happens today? Is this more about symbolism, achieving some sort of symbolic victory here, if it's going to be vetoed anyway? Does anything come of this process?

ROTH: Well, the process starts with the handing over of that letter from the Palestinian leader to Secretary-General Ban. It's certainly symbolic. It may turn out to be that.

We're going to see what happens in the Security Council. As you were saying, if the U.S. has a veto, it may not come to that. There are nine countries that need to say yes before any resolution such as a statehood resolution could be accepted.

You see Ban Ki-moon entering for this meeting with the Palestinian leader. The Palestinians, this is their shining moment, certainly to bring hope to the people back home. But as we've seen, there have been so many wrong turns, false alarms in Middle Ease peace. How many peace conferences, how many photo opportunities on the lawn at the White House, Oslo peace agreements?

MALVEAUX: Right. Right.

ROTH: A lot of outside forces sometimes come in. People say it's the key to the whole Middle East. Some say absolutely nonsense, that this is a different issue.

You've been covering it for years, I'm sure, traveling with presidents to the region. This just goes on, and the world arrives to watch the Palestinian leader speak.

MALVEAUX: So do we think, Richard, at this point there is any way, because Abbas is moving forward, he's going before this international body of world leaders, does he think he can squeeze any concessions out of President Obama or the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu?

ROTH: Well, that's the thing. Can he use this as a lever to get some movement going or any pressure? I mean, Israel's not going to budge on some things.

As long as the United States is lying in wait with a veto, there is a limit to what the Palestinians can achieve. The aim is to have the so-called quartet -- Russia, European Union, U.S., U.N. -- come up with a timetable. That's the plan.

Soon after this meeting, and the speech, there's going to be a statement from the quartet in the next few days announcing that there has to be this timetable with a plan for negotiations to begin, proposals for new borders, all destined to end one year from now with an independent Palestinian state. They would be the 194th member.

And what's interesting, by the way, is that South Sudan 193, a new member just a few weeks ago, they spoke. That's got to be hard for the Palestinians to watch when they go forth.

MALVEAUX: Sure. The irony here --

ROTH: And their application just took a few days.

MALVEAUX: Yes, not lost on anyone there.

Richard, hang with us, if you will. It's just moments away from Abbas' speech before the United Nations.

We're going to bring that to you live a soon as it begins.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: I understand that we are getting very, very close to seeing the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, go before the United Nations, just moments away now. I want to bring in Richard Haass to talk a little bit about what this moment means, what we should be watching for or listening for as he takes the stage.

RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, he's put himself in an extraordinarily difficult position. He's obviously going forward with the beginning of this process, but he's in the ironic position of hoping that, while he goes forward, he doesn't have to complete it.

MALVEAUX: All right.

Richard, I'm sorry to interrupt you here, if I can. I understand that he's getting a lot of applause as he's introduce. Let's just listen in here very quickly.

(BEGIN LIVE COVERAGE)

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honor to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency, the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and president of the Palestinian Authority, and I ask him to address the assembly.

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful, Mr. President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, at the outset I extend my congratulations to His Excellency, Mr. (INAUDIBLE), on his assumption of the presidency of the assembly for this session, and I wish him every success.

Today, I extend my sincere congratulations on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian people for the government and people of South Sudan for its deserved admission as a full member of the United Nations, wishing them progress and prosperity.

I also congratulate the secretary-general, His Excellency, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his election to a new term at the helm of the United Nations. This renewal of confidence reflects the world's appreciation for his efforts which have strengthened the role of the United Nations.

Excellencies, the question of Palestine is intricately linked with the United Nations via the resolutions adopted by its various organizations and agencies, and through the essential and lauded role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East UNRWA, which embodies the international responsibility towards the plight of Palestine refugees who are the victims of al-Nakba, the catastrophe that occurred in 1948.

We aspire for and seek a greater and more effective role for the United Nations and working to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in our region that ensures the inalienable, legitimate, national rights of the Palestinian people as defined by the resolutions of international legitimacy embodied by the United Nations.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, a year ago, at the same time, and in this hall, distinguished leaders and heads of delegations addressed the stalled peace efforts in our region. Everyone had high hopes for a new round of final status negotiations which had begun in early September in Washington under the direct auspices of President Obama and with the participation of the international quartet, as well as Egypt and Jordan, to reach within one year a peace agreement.

We entered those negotiations with open hearts and attentive ears and sincere intentions, and we were ready with our documents, our papers, and our proposals. But these negotiations broke down just weeks after they were launched.

After this, we did not give up and we did not cease our efforts for initiatives and contacts. Over the past year, we did not leave a door to be knocked or channel to be pursued or a path to be taken, and we did not ignore any formal or informal party of influence and stature to be addressed.

We positively considered the various ideas and proposals and initiatives presented from many countries and parties. But all of these sincere efforts and endeavors undertaken by international parties were repeatedly smashed against a rock of the positions of the Israeli government, which quickly dashed the hopes raised by the launch of negotiations last September.

The core issue here is that the Israeli government refuses to commit to terms of reference for the negotiations that are based on international law and U.N. resolutions. And it tragically continues to intensify building settlements on the territory of the future state of Palestine.

Settlement activities embody the core of a policy of colonial military occupation of the land of the Palestinian people and all of the brutality of aggression and racial discrimination against our people that this policy entails. This policy, which constitutes a breach of international humanitarian law and U.N. resolutions, is the primary cause for the failure of the peace process, the collapse of dozens of opportunities, and the burial of the great hopes that arose from the signing of the Declaration of Principles in 1993 between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel to achieve a just peace that would begin a new era for our region.

The reports of United Nations' missions, as well as reports by several Israeli institutions and civil societies, convey a horrific picture about the size of the settlements campaign which the Israeli government does not hesitate to boast about and which it continues to execute so the systematic confiscation of the Palestinian lands and the construction of thousands of new settlement units in various areas of the West Bank, particularly in the Arab part of Jerusalem, and throughout the West Bank, and through the accelerated construction of the racist annexation wall that is eating up large tracts of our land, dividing it into separate and isolated islands and (INAUDIBLE), destroying family life and communities, and harming the livelihoods of tens of thousands of families.

The occupying power also continues to refuse issuing permits for our people to build an occupied east Jerusalem, and at the same time, it intensifies its decades-long campaign of the demolition and confiscation of homes displacing Palestinian owners and residents under a multi-pronged policy of ethnic cleansing aimed at pushing them away from their ancestral homeland.

Moreover, matters have reached a point where orders have been issued to deport elected representatives from the city -- their city of Jerusalem. The occupying power also continues to undertake excavation that threaten our holy places and its military checkpoints, prevent our citizens from gaining access to their mosques and churches.

It continues to besiege the holy city with a ring of settlements and with the annexation wall imposed to separate the holy city from the rest of the Palestinian cities. The occupation is racing against time to redraw the borders on our land according to what it wants, and to impose a fait accompli on the ground that changes the realities and undermines the realistic potential for the rise of the state of Palestine.

At the same time, the occupying power continues to impose a strict blockade on the Gaza Strip and to target Palestinian civilians by assassinations, air strikes, artillery shelling, persisting with its war of aggression of three years ago on the strip which resulted in the massive destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, and mosques, and thousands of martyrs and wounded. The occupying power also continues its incursions into areas of the Palestinian National Authority through raids, arrests, and killings at the checkpoints.

In recent years, the criminal actions of armed settler militias who enjoy the special protection of the occupation army, these actions have intensified with the perpetration of frequent attacks against our people, targeting their homes, schools, universities, mosques, fields, crops, and trees. Today, they killed one Palestinian who was peacefully protesting. Despite our repeated warnings, the occupying -- the Israeli authorities have not acted to curb these acts, and we hold them fully responsible for the crimes of the settlers.

These are but a few examples of the policy of the Israeli colonial settlement occupation, and this policy is responsible for the repeated failure of successive international attempts to salvage the peace process. This policy will destroy the chances of achieving a two-state solution upon which there is an international consensus. And here I caution, and I caution aloud, this settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence.

In addition, we now face the imposition of new conditions that have not previously been raised, conditions that will transform the raging conflict in our inflamed region into a religious conflict and a threat to the future of 1.4 million Palestinians, citizens of Israel, a matter which we reject and which is impossible for us to accept being dragged through. All of the actions taken by Israel in our country are a series of unilateral actions that are not -- that aim to entrench occupation.

Israel has reestablished the administrative and military authority in the West Bank with a unilateral decision, ant it decided that its military authorities are the ones that determine the right of any of the citizens on whether to reside in any area of Palestinian land. And Israel is the one that decides to confiscate our land and our water, and to obstruct our movement, as well as the movement of goods unilaterally. And yet, they speak of unilateralism.

Despite our agreements -- and these agreements forbid unilateral individual actions -- Ladies and Gentlemen, in 1974, our deceased leader, Yasser Arafat, came to this hall and assured --

(APPLAUSE)

ABBAS: And he assured the members of the General Assembly of our affirmative pursuit for peace. He urged the United Nations to realize the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, and he said, "Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand."

In 1988, President Arafat again addressed the General Assembly which convened in Geneva to hear him. There, he submitted the Palestinian peace program adopted by the Palestine National Council at its session held that same year in Algeria.

When we adopted this program, we were taking a painful and very difficult step for all of us, especially those, including myself, who were forced to leave their homes and their towns and their villages, carrying only some of our belongings, and our grief and our memories and the keys to camps of exile and Diaspora in the 1948 al-Nakba in one of the worst operations of uprooting destruction and removal of a vibrant and cohesive society that had been contributing in the pioneering and living way, and the cultural and economic renaissance of the Arab Middle East.

Yet, because we believe in peace, and because of our conviction in international legitimacy, and because we had the courage to make difficult decisions for our people, and in the absence of absolute justice, we decided to adopt the path of relative justice, justice that is possible, a justice that could correct part of the grave historical injustice committed against our people. Thus, we agreed to establish the state of Palestine on only 22 percent of the territory of historical Palestine, on all the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in 1967.

We, by taking that historic step, which was welcome by the states of the world, made a major concession in order to achieve a historic compromise that would allow peace to be made in the land of peace.

In the years that followed, from the Madrid Conference, and the Washington negotiations, leading to the Oslo Agreement, which was signed 18 years ago in the White House garden and was linked with the letters of mutual recognition -- mutual recognition -- between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, we persevered and dealt positively and responsibly with all efforts aimed at the establishment of a lasting peace agreement. Yet, as we said earlier, every initiative and every conference and every new round of negotiations and every movement was shattered on the rock of the Israeli settlement expansion project.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, I confirm on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, which will remain so until the end of the conflict, in all its aspects and until the resolution of all final status issues, I affirm the following.

Number one, the goal of the Palestinian people is a realization of their inalienable national rights and their independent state of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital on all the land of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied in the June 1967 war, in conformity with the resolutions of international legitimacy and with the achievement of a just and agreed-upon solution to the Palestine refugee issue in accordance with Resolution 194 as stipulated in the Arab peace initiative, which presented the consensus Arab and Islamic vision to resolve the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict and to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that we are committed to and work towards.

To this, we adhere. And achieving this desired peace also requires a release of political prisoners and the prisoners of freedom and Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons without delay.

Number two, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian people adhere to the renouncement of violence and rejection and condemnation of terrorism in all its forms, especially state terrorism, especially state terrorism and the terrorism by settlers.

And we adhere to all agreements signed between the PLO and Israel. Third, we adhere to the option of negotiating a lasting solution to the conflict, in accordance with resolutions of international legitimacy. Here, I declare that the PLO is ready to return immediately to the negotiating table on the basis of the adopted terms of reference based on international legitimacy and a complete cessation of settlement activity.

Fourth, our people will continue their popular, peaceful resistance to the Israel occupation, will continue their popular, peaceful resistance to the Israeli occupation and its settlement and apartheid policies and its construction of the racist annexation wall.

And they receive support for their resistance, which is consistent with international humanitarian law and international conventions and has the support of peace activists from Israel and around the world, reflecting an impressive, inspiring and courageous example of the strengths of this defenseless people armed only with their dreams, courage, hope and slogans in the face of bullets, tanks, tear gas, and bulldozers.

Fifth, when we bring our plight and our case to this international podium, it is a confirmation of our reliance on the political and diplomatic option and is a confirmation that we do not undertake unilateral steps. Our efforts are not aimed at isolating Israel or delegitimizing it. Rather, we want to gain legitimacy for the cause of the people of Palestine.

We only aim to delegitimize the settlement activities, the occupation and apartheid and the logic of ruthless force. And we believe that all the countries of the world stand with us in this regard. I am here to say on behalf of the Palestinian people and the Palestine Liberation Organization, we extend our hands to the Israeli government and the Israeli people for peacemaking.

I say to them let us urgently build together a future for our children where they can enjoy freedom, security and prosperity. Let us build the bridges of dialogue, instead of checkpoints and walls of separation. Let us build cooperative relations based on parity and equity and friendship between two neighboring states, Palestine and Israel, instead of policies of occupation, settlement, war and eliminating, the other.

Mr. President, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, despite the unquestionable right of our people to self-determination and to the independence of our state as stipulated in international resolutions, we have accepted in the past few years to engage in what appeared to be a test of our worthiness, entitlement and eligibility.

During the last two years, our national authority has implemented a program to build our state institutions. Despite the extraordinary situation and the Israeli obstacles imposed on us, a serious, extensive project was launched that has included the implementation of plans to enhance and advance the judiciary, the apparatus for the maintenance of order and security, the development of administrative, financial and oversight systems, upgrading the performance of institutions, and enhancing self-reliance in order to reduce the need for foreign aid.

With the thankful support of Arab countries and donors from friendly countries, a number of large infrastructure projects have been implemented, focused on various aspects of services, with special attention to rural and marginalized areas.

In the midst of this massive national project, we have been strengthening what we sought to be the futures of our state, our future state, from the preservation of security for the citizen and public order, to the promotion of judicial authority and the rule of law, to strengthening the role of women via legislation, laws and participation, to ensuring the protection of public freedoms and strengthening the role of civil society institutions, to institutionalizing rules and regulations for ensuring accountability and transparency in the work of our ministries and departments, to entrenching the pillars of democracy as the basis for the Palestinian political life.

When division struck the unity of our homeland, our people and our institutions, we were determined to adopt dialogue for the restoration of our unity. We succeeded months ago in achieving national reconciliation. And we hope that its implementation will be accelerated in the coming weeks. The core pillar of this reconciliation was to turn to the people through legislative and presidential elections to be conducted within a year, because the state we want will be a state characterized by the rule of law, the exercise of democracy, and the protection of freedoms and equality of all citizens without any discrimination and the transfer of power through the ballot box.

The reports issued recently by the ad hoc liaison committee, the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, we believe have confirmed and lauded what has been accomplished and have considered it a remarkable and unprecedented model.

The consensus conclusion of the ad hoc liaison committee of donor countries a few days ago here in this city described what has been accomplished as -- quote -- "a remarkable international success story" -- unquote -- and confirmed the readiness of the Palestinian people and their institutions for the immediate independence of the state of Palestine.

That was the statement of the international community. I do not believe that anyone with a shred of conscience can reject our application for a full membership in the United Nations and our admission as an independent state.

(APPLAUSE)

ABBAS: Mr. President, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is no longer possible to redress the issue of the blocked horizon of the peace talks with the same means and methods that have repeatedly been tried and proven unsuccessful over the past years.

The crisis is far too deep to be neglected, and it is far more dangerous to be simply circumvented or its explosion postponed. It is neither possible, nor practical, nor acceptable to return to conducting business as usual as if everything is fine.

It is futile to go into negotiations without clear parameters and in the absence of credibility and a specific timetable. Negotiations will be meaningless as long as the occupation army on the ground continues to entrench its occupation, instead of rolling it back, and continues to change the demography of our country in order to create a new basis on which to alter the borders.

This is totally unacceptable.

(APPLAUSE)

ABBAS: Ladies and gentlemen, this is a moment of truth. Our people are waiting to hear the answer of the world. Will it allow Israel to continue the last occupation in the world?

We are the last people to remain under occupation. Will the world allow Israel to occupy us forever? And will it allow Israel to remain a state above the law and accountability? Will it allow Israel to continue rejecting the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice and the positions of the overwhelming majority of countries in the world? Is this acceptable?

Mr. President, the heart of the crisis in our area is very, very simple and obvious. Either there is those who believe that we are an unnecessary people, unwanted people in the Middle East, or those who believe that in fact there is a missing state that needs to be established immediately.

(APPLAUSE)

ABBAS: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, I come before you today from the Holy Land, the land of Palestine, the land of divine messages, ascension of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, and the birthplace of Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people in the homeland and in the Diaspora, to say, after 63 years of suffering of an ongoing tragedy, al-Nakba, enough, enough, enough.

(APPLAUSE)

ABBAS: It is time for the Palestinian people to gain their freedom and independence. The time has come to end the suffering and the plight of millions of Palestinian refugees in the homeland and the Diaspora, to end their displacement and to realize their rights, some of whom were forced to take refuge more than once in different places of the world.

At a time when the Arab peoples affirm their quest for democracy in what is called now the Arab spring, the time has come also for the Palestinian spring, the time for independence.

(APPLAUSE)

ABBAS: The time has come for our men, women and children to live normal lives, for them to be able to sleep without waiting for the worst that the next day will bring, for mothers to be assured that their children will return home without fear of being killed, arrested or humiliated. For students to be able to go to their schools and universities without checkpoints obstructing them. The time has come for sick people to be able to reach hospitals normally and for our farmers to be able to take care of their good land without fear of the occupation seizing the land and its water, which the wall prevents access to, or the fear of the settlers with their guard dogs who attack the Palestinians.

They built on our lands their homes and (INAUDIBLE) and burned the olive trees that have existed in Palestine for hundreds of years. The time has come for the thousands of prisoners of conscious (ph) and freedom to be released from the prisons, to return to their families and their children, to become a part of building their homeland for the freedom of which they have sacrificed so much.

My people desire to exercise their right to enjoy a normal life like the rest of humanity. They believe in what a great poet, Mohamed Terni (ph), said, standing here -- standing here, staying here, permanent here, eternal here, and we have one goal, one goal, one goal -- to be. And we shall be. Ladies and gentlemen, we profoundly appreciate and value the positions of all states that have supported our struggle and our rights and recognize the state of Palestine following the declaration of independence in 1988, as well as the countries that have recently recognized the state of Palestine and those that have upgraded the level of Palestine's representation in the capitals. I also salute the secretary-general, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, who said a few days ago a word of truth -- that the Palestinian state should have been established years ago.

Be assured that this support for our people is more valuable to them than you can imagine. For it makes them feel that someone is listening to their narrative and does not try to ignore the tragedy and the horrors of Alekba (ph) and the occupation of which they have so suffered. And it re-enforces their hope that stems from the belief that justice is possible in this world. For the loss of hope is the most ferocious enemy of peace and despair is the strongest ally of extremism. I say the time has come for my courageous and proud people, after decades of displacement and colonial occupation and ceaseless suffering, to live like other peoples of the earth -- free in a sovereign and independent homeland.

Mr. President, I would like to inform you that before delivering this statement, I, in my capacity as president of the state of Palestine and chairman of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, submitted to his Excellency, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations, an application for the admission of Palestine on the basis of the borders of June 4, 1967 with al Qud Asharif (ph) as its capital, as a full member of the United Nations.

This is a copy of the application. I call upon Mr. Secretary- General to expedite transmittal of our request to the Security Council. And I call upon the distinguished members of the Security Council to vote in favor of our full membership. I also appeal to the states that have not yet done so to recognize the state of Palestine.

Ladies and gentlemen, the support of the countries of the world for our endeavor is a victory for truth, freedom, justice, law, and international legitimacy and it provides tremendous support for the peace option and enhances the chances of success of the negotiations. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, your support for the establishment of the state of Palestine and for its admission to the United Nations as a full member is the greatest contribution to peace making in the land of peace and throughout the world.

Mr. President, I have come here today carrying a message from a courageous and proud people. Palestine is being reborn. This is my message. May all the people of the world stand with the people of Palestine as it marches steadfastly to its appointment with history, with freedom, with independence, right now. And I hope that we shall not wait for long.

Thank you all.

(END LIVE COVERAGE) SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas, you've been watching, before the United Nations General Assembly to rapturous applause. That audience there, and you can see the international body, many world leaders standing and applauding the leader of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas spoke for about 35 minutes or so before the international body.

On the other side of your screen, you're looking at the West Bank, Ramallah. That is where you have crowds -- and you have crowds of folks there chanting, "with all our souls we will sacrifice for you, Palestine." We're also being told that inside the U.N. chamber the Israelis did not stand for that speech. We expect to hear from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, shortly, who will counter this message, saying that he believes that the only way to bring about Palestinian statehood is through direct negotiations with Israelis.

We're going to have more on this after the break. We're going to talk to former Ambassador Richard Haass and our own Fionnuala Sweeney, who is in Ramallah, where you see all of those folks who are cheering and rooting as they had watched Abbas take the international stage. More of this right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It was a moment they had all been waiting for in the West Bank. Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in Arafat Square to hear their leader, Mahmoud Abbas, make his case for statehood at the U.N. General Assembly. You're looking at live pictures there out of Ramallah.

Want to bring in our own Fionnuala Sweeney, who joins us from Ramallah, to talk a little bit about it.

We heard some chanting taking place. Essentially, what was the mood, what's the feel of the folks who are there on the ground where you are? Do they think this will make a difference?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially the mood of anticipation throughout this week has now given rise to expectations. This is a people who are feeling that Mahmoud Abbas, their leader, has put them on the map. This is not that they expect to get a state tomorrow, or even indeed in the next month, it's about a tactic for them to end occupation as they see it.

More than 83 percent of people, Suzanne, support Mahmoud Abbas in this endeavor and this is a man who is very acutely aware of his legacy. He's 76 years of age. He has not achieved anything in the way of a peace agreement. And this is his opportunity to put his people on the map and also protect his legacy. The difficulty will come in the weeks ahead when we see if there are any tangible effects on the ground as a result.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Fionnuala Sweeney.

I want to bring in former Ambassador Richard Haass. You see the crowds there. The expectation of the Palestinians quite high. Is that dangerous that you actually raise their expectations, you put that kind of pressure. What happens next?

RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, it's extraordinarily dangerous. Mahmoud Abbas just gave a speech that was obviously well received in the halls of the General Assembly, well received on the streets of Ramallah.

But I've got to tell you, Suzanne, I thought that speech was disappointing, counterproductive and will -- one day he will come back to rue it, I will predict. It was little more than an extended indictment of Israel.

There was nothing in it to make Israelis think they had a partner for peace. And at the end of the day, he has to negotiate, not with all those people sitting in the General Assembly, but with the government of Israel.

He also did nothing to prepare his own people for the compromises and disappointments that are going to lie ahead of them. So I actually thought this speech was ill-advised and will make a difficult situation that much more difficult. I am -- I was not at all pleased to hear what I did.

MALVEAUX: Richard, in all the years that I've cover the U.N., I've really never seen that kind of applause that Mahmoud Abbas got there. Several occasions where he was applauded. Does it matter that he has that kind of support within that hall, that international body? Does that not create a little bit more pressure to bring the Israelis, the United States, back to the table with the Palestinians?

HAASS: I would say not, even though it is possible we'll get back to the table. But what matters, as you know, is not getting back to the table, but it's a willingness and an ability to compromise once the talks begin, if, in fact, they do. And, again, there was nothing in that speech that would make Israelis want to compromise.

Plus, placing international pressure on Israel now, reflecting what's going -- in particular, what's going on in the Arab world, is not going to make this or any Israeli government more willing to take risks. Israelis wake up in the morning now. They see people in the streets of Egypt and the rest. This is not a speech meant to re- assure. And as a result, I think it's really counterproductive.

MALVEAUX: All right, Richard Haass, thank you very much for your perspective, as well as Fionnuala Sweeney.

We are going to pass the baton to T.J. Holmes, who is in for Randi Kaye as NEWSROOM continues.

Hey, T.J.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Suzanne. Thank you so much.