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Palestinians Push For Statehood; Obama Changes "No Child Left Behind"; Tacoma Students Go Back To School; Ahmadinejad Triggers Walkout at U.N.; Rick Perry Speaks In Orlando; Amanda Knox Murder Appeal
Aired September 23, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much. And we are continuing on the note we just wrapped up there with Suzanne. We are expecting to hear from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, here in just a bit.
We'll let you hear that live and certainly he will counter a lot of what you just heard here from the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Again, we are talking about a situation that has not been able to happen through war. This has not been able to happen through peace talks.
So today, now Palestinians are pushing for statehood through another method. A vote in the United Nations. You saw this live. Just wrapped up a short time ago. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, he made the case before the U.N. General Assembly, pretty sympathetic to his cause. You heard Suzanne talking about the applause he got in that hall. But granting full membership to Palestine as a sovereign independent state is going to take approval by the U.N. Security Council. The United States is not going to let that happen. It was just this week President Obama reminded the world body that the U.S. supports Palestinian statehood but only through direct talks with Israel. Abbas said Israel though is the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT, PALESTINE (translator): 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 emphatically continues to intensify building settlements on the territory of the state -- of the future of state of Palestine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And like I mentioned, just a short time from now, the delegates will hear from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He will have some of the same points to hit as the president -- President Obama has hit. He may hit them more strongly. You will you see that live here again. We're standing by for that, expecting it at any moment.
I want to turn now to our Senior State Department Producer Alise Labott, who is here with me. Alise, what happens now? OK, he hands in the paperwork, we're asking for statehood, but how is this process going to go? It could go quickly but it could draw out for quite some time.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: It could, exactly, T.J. And I think what President Abbas is looking to do is get on a plane, go back to his people, claim victory that he went to the U.N. Security Council and also give this a little time to brew. Everybody really dancing on a pin right now for President Abbas, he's looking to see what the international community can come up with to stop him from going back to the Council and forcing that vote with the U.N. Security Council.
Now, the Middle East quartet, the U.S., European union, United Nations and Russia all trying to come up with terms for negotiations that the Israelis and the Palestinians can live with and perhaps get President Abbas to walk it back, not really force that vote.
But certainly you saw -- what -- what you saw in the Palestinian territories today, President Abbas going back right now very victorious to his people and the people are feeling a sense of dignity that they haven't in a long time.
HOLMES: And we're showing that picture, just popped up -- oh there it is, we're having some issues with the sunlight. But still, people can make out there the people there -- the Palestinian people in the streets and were watching this speech and cheering throughout. But Elise, how much of the move that the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, made today has to do with politics in his own home? He might not believe he could achieve statehood. He might believe he needs negotiations, but still, this move is going to mean a lot for him politically back home.
LABOTT: Certainly. And it means a lot politically for him here at the United Nations. Everyone is talking about really what a smart politician they didn't really know that he was. He is getting everybody to be rallying around him, looking to see what he's going to do. And back home, he's been seen for years as a weak leader, someone that doesn't have the confidence of the people, but someone who believes in peace and there's been so many questions about how long he would last.
Right now, he is going back to the Palestinian people. If you look at those pictures, it's such a contrast to the sense of desperation and frustration that the Palestinians have felt. And today, at least a little while, they're going to see the sense of hope that they have and that perhaps this could lead to an ultimate moment of a Palestinian state. For him it is very important politically -- T.J.
HOLMES: And politically, he might have to negotiate with Israel, but what about negotiation with Hamas? Where are they? Are they on board with what he is trying to do?
LABOTT: No, not at all. Hamas has come out and said it does not agree with this bid. Not necessarily because they don't want a Palestinian state, obviously they do, but they do not want to negotiate with Israel. They do not want to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, something that the Palestinians would have to do if there was a peace deal. And what they're saying is President Abbas is not legitimate to give away these rights, give away these conditions of the Palestinian people. And you know, there haven't been elections in the Palestinian territory in several years. They're saying, we have to have elections, we have to have people that can negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians and certainly Hamas doesn't think that President Abbas has the right now to give away these concessions.
HOLMES: All right. Elise Labott, thank you, at the U.N. today.
We'll turn now to other news making headlines right now. The federal government inching towards, you guessed it, a partial government shutdown. Now they will tell you it's not really a possibility, but it kind of is. Just moments ago, Senate Democrats voted down a temporary spending bill passed by the House to keep the government running through November 18th. The House bill includes money for federal disaster relief but also cuts in another government program to pay for it. Senate Democrats want more money for FEMA without spending offsets. If lawmakers cannot get their act together, the federal government could partially shut down October 1st.
Well, President Obama's making big changes to "No Child Left Behind." This morning, he announced the state will be allowed to opt out of key requirements over the controversial education reform bill enacted during the Bush administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Starting today, we'll be giving states more flexible to meet high standards. Keep in mind the change we're making is not lowering standards, we're saying we're going to give you more flexibility to meet high standards.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: But the waivers will give states more control over how they deal with troubled schools and allow states to drop the requirements that all students must show they are proficient in reading and math by 2014.
So, let's turn to Tacoma, Washington now where 28,000 kids went back to school today after teachers voted to end a strike that kept students home for more than a week. Tacoma teachers voted to approve a new contract yesterday and under the agreement, teachers will not face a pay cut. That was the major sticking point during negotiations.
And in Orlando, Florida, jury deliberations are under way in the murder trial of millionaire Bob Ward. He is accused of killing his wife, Diane, in September of 2009. Prosecutors say she was shot just days before she was supposed to give a deposition in a lawsuit. It alleges her husband blew millions on big houses and expensive cars while his business went bankrupt. Defense attorneys say Ward's wife was suicidal and he was trying to stop her from killing herself when that gun went off. Well, Iranian president Ahmadinejad, some questioning, is he all bark, no bite? I'm going to be talking to an international security expert, Jim Walsh. He has spoken personally with Ahmadinejad on several occasions. We'll talk about what Ahmadinejad did say and what he didn't say at the U.N. this week. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we have seen this happen before, well we saw it again yesterday. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad triggered a mass exodus from the U.N. General Assembly, a mass walkout that was lead by the U.S. delegation, this came as Ahmadinejad once again questioned whether Al Qaeda was responsible for the 9/11 attacks and blamed the west for everything from slavery to the two world wars and global economic crisis.
CNN Contributor and International Security Analyst Jim Walsh is here with me now. Jim, did you hear anything yesterday that you hadn't heard before? Are you surprised anymore by these speeches we see him make year after year?
JIM WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: No, really I wasn't, T.J. This is sort of a classic thing we've seen unfold six times now. He'll give interviews in Tehran to American media and those tend to be softer and say nice things about the American people and they're aimed at an American audience. But when he gets to New York and he gets up there on the stage then his audience is different. He's talking to Iranians back in Iran and to people back in the region. So, the U.N. Speeches are almost always harsher, more provocative, more headline grabbing than the things he says before he comes or when he meets with people on the sidelines of these meetings.
HOLMES: Are you surprised on how little time he spent on the wars in Iraq an Afghanistan?
WALSH: Well, I thought -- you know, one of the things I noticed about the speech, it was not so much what he did say as much as much as what he did not say. So, a part of the whole speech is this classic thing where he attacks the U.S. and Europe for being great powers who meddle in the affairs of other states and he goes on about Iraq and Palestine, but there's one country that did not appear on that speech -- in that speech and that was Afghanistan. Right?
You'd think that if it was all about how the evil U.S. is invading a bunch of countries, he have mentioned Afghanistan but he doesn't. Why? Because Afghanistan is on the Iranian border. They don't want to have problems in Afghanistan. They want to have a stable Afghanistan. And so, he's not complaining so much about the U.S. role in Afghanistan.
HOLMES: OK. What's his role in the international stage now? A lot of people, frankly, just put up with him because we are trying to make sure we keep an eye on him and what happens with the nuclear issue in his country at least. So, where does his power lie and does he still have I guess a card to play when it comes to the nuclear issue? WALSH: Well, I thought it was interesting in his speech, he did affirm, he said, Iran is not interested in developing nuclear weapons. Now of course, people have suspicions, and rightly so, but it's better for countries to say they are not planning to do that than to say, oh, you're forcing us to or maybe we are hedging our bets. So, I was happy to hear that in the speech.
In terms of his own power, it's really declined. You know, he comes every year and all the press turns out for him, but he is in a much worse place at home because of internal divisions, his power is weakening. There was some talk of his arrest, I don't think that's going to happen but he's definitely in a weaker position.
By the way, the other thing he didn't mention, and you brought it up with nuclear, is in the side meetings and in the run-up to the New York speech, he said that they would be willing to stop the production of 20 percent enriched uranium. They would still do the three percent but they would stop the 20 percent if they could buy it on the open market. That's not -- that's something worth paying attention to because we do not want them to produce 20 percent enriched uranium. That's something that wasn't in the speech, but I think is worth following up and is significant.
HOLMES: Yes, you got to listen closely to President Ahmadinejad sometimes to figure out what is -- what it is we are supposed to be paying close attention to. Jim Walsh, always good to see you. Thanks so much.
WALSH: Thank you, T.J.
All right. Well, coming up here, victims of national disasters, including Irene and others, they are risks now -- at risk, a fallen victim to partisan politics. We'll tell you what's at stake for millions of people if FEMA runs out of money because Congress doesn't get its act together. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A live look at Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry, fresh off being treated as a pinata in last night's debate, a Republican debate, speaking at a conservative conference there in Orlando. Let's listen in for a moment.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: $27 billion more in my state over the next decade. Government mandated, government run health care costs too much, it kills to many jobs, it gets in between you and your doctor, whether it's passed in Massachusetts or Washington, D.C. And as president, I will oppose any big government health care plan that costs jobs and raises the tab on taxpayers.
As your president, I want to make Washington, D.C., as inconsequential in your life as I can make it. We have tried two and a half years of government trying to stimulate the economy. It's time to let the private sector grow the economy. We need a flatter, broader, fairer federal tax code. We need to restore investor confidence by eliminating federal regulations from those activist agencies, like the EPA. We need to cut the spending, reduce the debt so that our children inherit a country as promising as the one that our parents gave us.
You see, I grew up, as Al shared with you, in a small farming community west of Ft. Worth, Texas. We didn't spend a lot of time looking around for government to help us out. If a neighbor was sick, we all pitched in together to gather their crops or manage their livestock. In my case, we didn't even have indoor plumbing until I was five years old.
The son of tenet farmers, I promise you one thing -- I wasn't born with four aces in my hand. And like a lot of you, I view the pathway to success as the product of hard work. And we continue to reject the idea that Washington is our caretaker. The nanny state (ph) was not needed for our forefathers who carved out of this wilderness this greatest nation that the earth has ever known. The nanny state didn't groom our greatest generation, my father's generation, who freed millions of people from oppression during World War II. The nanny state didn't inspire innovation and technology, the creation of wealth or the entrepreneurial spirit in this country.
HOLMES: Listening in there to Texas Governor Rick Perry and presidential candidate fresh off another Republican debate last night where a lot of people will tell you it was eight against one. And a lot of those candidates were coming after him. He has been at the top a lot of polls since he got into the race, but, still, those polls are starting to tighten quite a bit, certainly between the governor there and former Governor Mitt Romney. We'll have more on politics and the debate last night coming up a little later in this hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.
But, let me turn now to FEMA. FEMA helps a lot of people out, of course, during natural disasters. And now FEMA is facing the real possibility of running out of money. Yes. Once again, the federal government on the verge of a shutdown, but this time funding for FEMA is the sticking point.
To give you a clearer picture of what's at stake, and this brings us to today's "Under Covered." I want you take a look at a map. I'm sure it will look familiar to you. It's the country you live in. The United States.
Look at it now once again. And what we're going to show you here are all the states that are relying on FEMA for aid because of major disasters. Just about every state in the U.S. Now, a number of these states had multiple disasters and had to go back to FEMA for more funds.
So what exactly is going to happen to all those people if FEMA doesn't get the money it needs? Hurricane Irene. Remember that? Wasn't too long ago. Communities all along the Atlantic were hit. Damage estimates for Irene alone? About $7 billion. And then came Tropical Storm Lee. And with that came massive flooding.
Oh, yes, what about the wildfires in Texas. Twenty-one thousand wildfires have burned about 4 million acres there and destroyed about 2,000 homes. And, oh, yes, then there's this. Remember this? The aftermath of the tornados that ripped through the Plains and the Midwest and parts of the South? Think about all those disasters and all those people. That just gives you a glimpse at what FEMA has been dealing with. Congress right now bickering over an exact dollar amount for FEMA.
What's "Under Covered" now are the countless families across this country, already victims to natural disasters, now caught in the middle. They're on the verge of becoming victims now of partisan politics. We reached out to the FEMA administrator, Craig Fugate, and his deputies. No one was available to answer the simple question -- what are they planning to do if the funds run dry.
But last month Fugate and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano suspended long term reconstruction projects. And those fund were reallocated to disaster victims to make sure they got immediate assistance. Those victims are still getting FEMA money. But according to FEMA's records, reconstruction projects that total nearly $450 million in more than 40 states are right now on hold.
Also, there's this. Think about this next time you're out in public somewhere and just look around. One out of about every six people you see may be living in poverty. That's according to the latest Census numbers. CNN now taking a closer look at this issue. And our Allan Chernoff found dozens of jobless people forced to live in a tent city in New Jersey. But many of these folks may be just like you -- professionals.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARILYN BERENZWEIG, TENT CITY RESIDENT: I have cooked four nachos (ph) in that can many, many times. I was a design director.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So how many do you want?
MARILYN BERENZWEIG: Two.
MICHAEL BERENZWEIG, TENT CITY RESIDENT: I want, you know, in radio, producing programs, co-producing programs, co-hosting programs.
MARILYN BERENZWEIG: If I had it to do over, I'd never have a career in the arts. Aside from the fact that it's so risky and -- look at what's happened to me.
If you think about it, it's really kind of shocking, really. You know, such a difference in lifestyle. I put in long, long hours. I mean it was fun. And I was very successful. That's why I was so shock at how it just -- and not just me. I had friend who were real successful, too. And they're out of work as well, you know. It's just gone. It's gone!
MICHAEL BERENZWEIG: I am concerned. There is anxiety every day about what the next day will bring. We've spent $100,000 taking care of birds that we've rescued. If we didn't spend that $100,000, we would have had a nest egg. MARILYN BERENZWEIG: We saved at various times and it always seemed like there was some reason, a family illness or whatever, and it would just get swept away. I just never expected that I wouldn't be working for another 10 years at least, you know? I don't really feel old. I don't feel like I couldn't be having a full time job.
Obviously something has to be done. The way things are structured in this country now just will not go on forever. So why not take this as an experiment in living?
MICHAEL BERENZWEIG: Psalm 23, which so many people refer to, "the Lore is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." And I was thinking to myself, I'm lying down in green pastures.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The reverend who founded Tent City as a part of his church ministry says he has seen the Tent City's population nearly double. A sign of how much people are struggling right now.
Well, we're going to turn in a moment to the Amanda Knox murder appeal trial in Italy. It's coming to an end now. Lot of questions about whether or not this American will be set free. Your "Crime & Consequence," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hear those camera flashes as 24-year-old Amanda Knox entered an Italian courtroom today. The American's appeal to her 2009 conviction for the murder of her British roommate now in its final stages. Prosecutors finished their final arguments last hour and the defense will wrap up next week. And that is today's "Crime & Consequence." And joining me now from Perugia, Italy, CNN's senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance.
Matthew, what happened today?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, prosecutor's making -- basically summing up what's left of their case essentially. Remember, the big problem that prosecutors have got is that the main physical evidence, the DNA samples that were found on the alleged murder weapon, a 30 centimeter long knife, were found by independent forensic experts appointed by the court to be unsound (ph). The samples weren't large enough, they said, to draw any conclusions from them. And so it's really undermined the physical evidence of the prosecution.
And so what the prosecution has been doing today, and they're summing up, is looking at the other kind of circumstantial evidence that still exists against Amanda Knox and her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito, who have been already convicted, remember, of killing Amanda's British flat mate, Meredith Kercher.
But I think the fact is that, you know, a lot of people have been sort of speculating around here that, you know, much of that prosecution evidence seems to have had the kind of wind taken out of it with the fact that that physical evidence having been declared unsound (ph) by those independent experts. And so they were using emotional arguments, saying that the jury should try and, you know, imagine what it's like as the parents of Meredith Kercher, imagine the pain they were going through. Some people saying, well, you know, we shouldn't be confusing the two issues, the pain of the parents of Meredith Kercher and whether or not Amanda Knox is innocent or guilty of killing her.
HOLMES: Matthew, if this appeal does not go her way, does she have any other options?
CHANCE: Yes, she does. It will be the beginning -- in the first few days of October when the court will decide whether or not they're going to overturn this conviction and set Amanda Knox free. Whether they're going to uphold it and keep her in jail. There's a third option as well. They could find her guilty of complicity in a lesser charge and just reduce her sentence, possibly to time already served. She's been in prison for four years. If that doesn't work, there is one further opportunity under Italian law for a further appeal.
HOLMES: All right, Matthew Chance for us in Italy following a story of great interest there and here in the U.S. for this American.
Also a story we have been following for the past -- really all week. And we knew this was going to be the big story at the United Nations. We just saw a short time ago Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, make his case for statehood for the Palestinian people.
Now we are about to see the counterargument, we assume, from Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
Let's go ahead and listen.
(BEGIN LIVE COVERAGE)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Mr. President.
Ladies and gentlemen, Israel has extended its hand in peace from the moment it was established 63 years ago. On behalf of Israel and the Jewish people, I extend that hand again today.
I extend it to the people of Egypt and Jordan with renewed friendship, for neighbors with whom we have made peace. I extend it to the people of Turkey, with respect and goodwill. I extend it to the people of Libya and Tunisia, with admiration for those trying to build a democratic future. I extend it to the other peoples of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with whom we want to forge a new beginning. I extend it to the people of Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, with all of the courage of those fighting brutal repression.
But most especially, I extend my hand to the Palestinian people, with whom we seek a just and lasting peace.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) Ladies and gentlemen, in Israel, our hope for peace never wanes. Our scientists, doctors, innovators apply their genius to improve the world of tomorrow. Our artists, our writers enrich the heritage of humanity.
Now, I know that this is not exactly the image of Israel that is often portrayed in this hall. After all, it was here in 1975 that the age-old yearning of my people to restore our national life in our ancient biblical homeland, it was then that this was braided -- branded, rather, shamefully as racism.
And it was here in 1980, right here, that the historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt wasn't praised. It was denounced.
And it's here, year after year, that Israel is unjustly singled out from condemnation. It's singled out for condemnation more often than all the nations of the world combined; 21 out of the 27 General Assembly resolutions condemn Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East.
This is an unfortunate part of the U.N. institution. It's the -- the theater of the absurd. It doesn't only cast Israel as the villain; it often casts real villains in leading roles. Gadhafi's Libya chaired the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. Saddam's Iraq headed the U.N. Committee on Disarmament.
You might say that's the past. Well, here's what's happening now, right now, today. Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon now presides over the U.N. Security Council. This means, in effect, that a terror organization presides over the body entrusted with guaranteeing the world's security. You couldn't make this thing up.
So here in the U. N. , automatic majorities can decide anything. They can decide that the sun sets in the West -- or rises in the West. I think the first has already been preordained. But they can also decide -- they have decided that the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Judaism's holiest place, is occupied Palestinian territory.
And yet, even here in the General Assembly, the truth can sometimes break through. In 1984, when I was appointed Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, I visited the great rabbi of Lubavitch. He said to me -- and, ladies and gentlemen, I don't want any of you to be offended, because, from personal experience of serving here, I know there are many honorable men and women, many capable and decent people serving their nations here, but here's what the rabbi said to me.
He said to me, "You'll be serving in a house of many lies." And then he said, "Remember that even in the darkest place, the light of a single candle can be seen far and wide."
Today, I hope that the light of truth will shine, if only for a few minutes, in a hall that for too long has been a place of darkness for my country. So, as Israel's prime minister, I didn't come here to win applause; I came here to speak the truth.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
The truth is -- the truth is that Israel wants peace. The truth is that I want peace. The truth is that, in the Middle East, at all times -- but especially during these turbulent days -- peace must be anchored in security.
The truth is that we cannot achieve peace through U.N. resolutions, but only through direct negotiations between the parties. The truth is that, so far, the Palestinians have refused to negotiate. The truth is that Israel wants peace with a Palestinian state, but the Palestinians want -- want a state without peace. And the truth is: You shouldn't let that happen.
Ladies and gentlemen, when I first came here 27 years ago, the world was divided between East and West. Since then, the Cold War ended, great civilizations have risen from centuries of slumber, hundreds of millions have been lifted out of poverty, countless more are poised to follow, and the remarkable thing is that, so far, this monumental, historic shift has largely occurred peacefully.
Yet a malignancy is now growing between East and West that threatens the peace of all. It seeks not to liberate, but to enslave; not to build, but to destroy. That malignancy is militant Islam. It cloaks itself in the mantle of a great faith, yet it murders Jews, Christians and Muslims alike with unforgiving impartiality.
On September 11th, it killed thousands of Americans, and it left the Twin Towers in smoldering ruins. Last night, I laid a wreath on the 9/11 Memorial. It was deeply moving.
But as I was going there, one thing echoed in my mind: the outrageous words of the president of Iran on this podium yesterday. He implied that 9/11 was an American conspiracy. Some of you left this hall; all of you should have.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Since 9/11, militant -- militant Islamists slaughtered countless other innocents, in London and Madrid, in Baghdad and Mumbai, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and every part of Israel.
I believe that the greatest danger facing our world is that this fanaticism will arm itself with nuclear weapons, and this is precisely what Iran is trying to do. Can you imagine that man who ranted here yesterday -- can you imagine him armed with nuclear weapons?
The international community must stop Iran before it's too late. If Iran is not stopped, we will all face the specter of nuclear terrorism. And the Arab Spring could soon become an Iranian Winter. That would be a tragedy.
Millions of Arabs have taken to the streets to replace tyranny with liberty, and no one would benefit more than Israel if those committed to freedom and peace would prevail. This is my fervent hope. But as the prime minister of Israel, I cannot risk the future of the Jewish state on wishful thinking. Leaders must see reality as it is, not as it ought to be. We must do our best to shape the future, but we cannot wish away the dangers of the present.
And the world around Israel is definitely becoming more dangerous. Militant Islam has already taken over Lebanon and Gaza. It's determined to tear apart the peace treaties between Israel and Egypt and between Israel and Jordan. It's poisoned many Arab minds against Jews in Israel, against America and the West. It opposes not the policies of Israel, but the existence of Israel.
Now, some argue that the spread of militant Islam, especially in these turbulent times, if you want to slow it down, they argue, Israel must hurry to make concessions, to make territorial compromises. And this theory sounds simple.
Basically, it goes like this: Leave the territory and peace will be advanced. The moderates will be strengthened. The radicals will be kept at bay. And don't worry about the pesky details of how Israel will actually defend itself. International troops will do the job.
These people say to me constantly, just make a sweeping offer and everything will work out. You know, there's only one problem with that theory. We've tried it, and it hasn't worked.
In 2000, Israel made a sweeping peace offer that met virtually all of the Palestinian demands. Arafat rejected it. The Palestinians then launched a terror attack that claimed 1,000 Israeli lives.
Prime Minister Olmert afterwards made an even more sweeping offer, in 2008. President Abbas didn't even respond to it.
But Israel did more than just make sweeping offers. We actually left territory. We withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 and from every square inch of Gaza in 2005. That didn't calm the Islamic storm, the militant Islamic storm that threatens us. It only brought the storm closer and made it stronger.
Hezbollah and Hamas fired thousands of rockets against our cities from the very territories we vacated. See, when Israel left Lebanon and Gaza, the moderates didn't defeat the radicals; the moderates were devoured by the radicals. And I regret to say that international troops, like UNIFIL in Lebanon and UBAN (ph) in Gaza, didn't stop the radicals from attacking Israel.
We left Gaza hoping for peace. We didn't freeze the settlements in Gaza; we uprooted them. We did exactly what the theory says: Get out, go back to the 1967 borders, dismantle the settlements.
And I don't think people remember how far we went to achieve this. We uprooted thousands of people from their homes. We pulled children out of -- out of their schools and their kindergartens. We bulldozed synagogues. We even -- we even moved loved ones from their graves.
And then, having done all that, we gave the keys of Gaza to President Abbas.
Now, the theory says it should all work out and President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority now could build a peaceful state in Gaza. You can remember that the entire world applauded. They applauded our withdrawal as an act of great statesmanship, as a bold act of peace.
But, ladies and gentlemen, we didn't get peace. We got war. We got Iran, which through its proxy, Hamas, promptly kicked out the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority collapsed in a day, in one day.
President Abbas just said on this podium that the Palestinians are armed only with their hopes and dreams. Yep, hopes, dreams, and 10,000 missiles and Grad rockets supplied by Iran, not to mention the river of lethal weapons now flowing into Gaza from the Sinai, from Libya, and from elsewhere. Thousands of missiles have already rained down on our cities.
So you might understand that, given all this, Israelis rightly ask, what's to prevent this from happening again in the West Bank?
See, most of our major cities in the south of the country are within a few dozen kilometers from Gaza. But in the center of the country, opposite the West Bank, our cities are a few hundred meters or, at most, a few kilometers away from the -- the edge of the West Bank.
So I want to ask you: Would any of you -- would any of you bring danger so close to your cities, to your families? Would you act so recklessly with the lives of your citizens?
Israel is prepared to have a Palestinian state in the West Bank, but we're not prepared to have another Gaza there. And that's why we need to have real security arrangements, which the Palestinians simply refuse to negotiate with us.
Israelis remember the bitter lessons of Gaza. Many of Israel's critics ignore them. They irresponsibly advise Israel to go down this same perilous path again.
You read what these people say, and it's as if nothing happened, just keep repeating the same advice, the same formula as though none of this happened. And these critics continue to press Israel to make far-reaching concessions without first assuring Israel's security. They praise those who unwittingly feed the insatiable crocodile of militant Islam as bold statesmen. They cast as enemies of peace those of us who insist that we must first erect a sturdy barrier to keep the crocodile out or, at the very least, jam an iron bar between its gaping jaws.
So, in the face of the labels and the libels, Israel must heed better advice. Better a bad press than a good eulogy. And better still would be a fair press whose sense of history extends beyond breakfast and which recognizes Israel's legitimate security concerns. I believe that, in serious peace negotiations, these needs and concerns can be properly addressed. But they will not be addressed without negotiations.
And the needs are many, because Israel is such a tiny country. Without Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, Israel is all of nine miles wide. I want to put it for you in perspective, because you're all in this city. That's about two-thirds the length of Manhattan. It's the distance between Battery Park and Columbia University. And don't forget that the people who live in Brooklyn and New Jersey are considerably nicer than some of Israel's neighbors.
So how do you -- how do you protect such a tiny country, surrounded by people sworn to its destruction and armed to the teeth by Iran? Obviously, you can't defend it from within that narrow space alone. Israel needs greater strategic depth, and that's exactly why Security Council Resolution 242 didn't require Israel to leave all the territories it captured in the Six-Day War. It talked about withdrawal from territories to secure and defensible boundaries.
And to defend itself, Israel must therefore maintain a long-term Israeli military presence in critical strategic areas of the West Bank. I explained this to President Abbas. He answered that, if a Palestinian state was to be a sovereign country, it could never accept such arrangements.
Why not? America has had troops in Japan, Germany, and South Korea for more than half-a-century. Britain has had an air space in Cyprus -- or, rather, an air base in Cyprus. France has forces in the three independent African nations. None of these states claim that they're not sovereign countries.
And there are many other vital security issues that also must be addressed. Take the issue of air space. Again, Israel's small dimensions create huge security problems. America can be crossed by a jet airplane in six hours. To fly across Israel, it takes three minutes. So is Israel's tiny air space to -- to be chopped in half and given to a Palestinian state not at peace with Israel?
Our major international airport is a few kilometers away from the West Bank. Without peace, will our planes become targets for anti- aircraft missiles placed in the adjacent Palestinian state? And how will we stop the smuggling into the West Bank? It's not merely the West Bank; it's the West Bank mountains. It just dominates the coastal plain, where most of Israel's population sits below. How could we prevent the smuggling into these mountains of those missiles that could be fired on our cities?
I bring up these problems because they're not theoretical problems; they're very real. And for Israelis, they're life-and-death matters. All these potential cracks in Israel's security have to be sealed in a peace agreement before a Palestinian state is declared, not afterwards, because if you leave it afterwards, they won't be sealed. And these problems will explode in our face and explode the peace. The Palestinians should first make peace with Israel and then get their state. I would also want to tell you this: After such a peace agreement is signed, Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as a new member of the United Nations. We will be the first.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
And there's one more thing. Hamas has been violating international law by holding our soldier, Gilad Shalit, captive for five years. They haven't given him even one Red Cross visit. He's held in a dungeon in darkness, against all international norms.
Gilad Shalit is the son of Aviva and Noam Shalit. He is the grandson of Zvi Shalit, who escaped the Holocaust by coming to the -- in 1930s as a boy to the land of Israel. Gilad Shalit is the son of every Israeli family. Every nation represented here should demand his immediate release. If you want to...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
If you want to pass a resolution about the Middle East today, that's the resolution you should pass.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Ladies and gentlemen, last year in -- in Israel, in Bar-Ilan University, this year in the Knesset and in the U.S. Congress, I laid out my vision for peace in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state, yes, the Jewish state. After all, this is the body that recognized the Jewish state 64 years ago. Now, don't you think it's about time the Palestinians did the same?
The Jewish state of Israel will always protect the rights of all its minorities, including the more than 1 million Arab citizens of Israel. I wish I could say the same thing about a future Palestinian state, for as Palestinian officials made clear the other day -- in fact, I think they made it right here in New York -- they said the Palestinian state won't allow any Jews in it. They'll be Jew-free, Judenrein. That's ethnic cleansing.
There are laws today in Ramallah that make the selling of land to Jews punishable by death. That's racism. And you know which laws this evokes.
Israel has no intention whatsoever to change the democratic character of our state. We just don't want the Palestinians to try to change the Jewish character of our state. We want to give up...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
We want them to give up the fantasy of flooding Israel with millions of Palestinians. President Abbas just stood here, and he said that the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the settlements. Well, that's odd. Our conflict has been raging for -- was raging for nearly half-a-century before there was a single Israeli settlement in the West Bank. So if what President Abbas is saying was true, then I guess that the settlements he's talking about are Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jaffa, Be'er Sheva. Maybe that's what he meant the other day when he said that Israel has been occupying Palestinian land for 63 years. He didn't say from 1967; he said from 1948.
I hope somebody will bother to ask him this question, because it illustrates a simple truth. The core of the conflict is not the settlements; the settlements are a result of the conflict.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
The settlements have to be -- it's an issue that has to be addressed and resolved in the course of negotiations. But the core of the conflict has always been -- and unfortunately remains -- the refusal of the Palestinians to recognize a Jewish state in any border.
I think it's time that the Palestinian leadership recognizes what every serious international leader has recognized, from Lord Balfour and Lloyd George in 1917 to President Truman in 1948 to President Obama just two days ago right here. Israel is the Jewish state.
(APPLAUSE)
NETANYAHU: President Abbas, stop walking around this issue. Recognize the Jewish state and make peace with us. In such a genuine peace, Israel is prepared to make painful compromises.
We believe that the Palestinians should be neither the citizens of Israel nor its subjects. They should live in a free state of their own. But they should be ready, like us, for compromise. And we will know that they're ready for compromise and for peace when they start taking Israel's security requirements seriously and when they stop denying our historical connection to our ancient homeland.
I often hear them accuse Israel of Judaizing Jerusalem. That's like accusing America of Americanizing Washington or the British of anglicizing London.
You know why we're called Jews? Because we come from Judea. In my office in Jerusalem there's an ancient seal. It's a signet ring of a Jewish official from the time of the bible. The seal was found right next to the Western Wall, and it dates back 2,700 years to the time of King Hezekiah.
Now, there's a name of the Jewish official inscribed on the ring in Hebrew. His name was Netanyahu. That's my last name. My first name, Benjamin, dates back a thousand years earlier to Benjamin, the son of Jacob, who was also known as Israel.
Jacob and his 12 sons roamed these same hills of Judea and Samaria 4,000 years ago. And there's been a continuous Jewish presence in the land ever since.
And for those Jews who were exiled from our land, they never stopped dreaming of coming back. Jews in Spain, on the eve of their expulsion; Jews in the Ukraine, fleeing the pogroms, Jews fighting the Warsaw ghetto as the Nazis were circling around them, they never stopped praying, they never stopped yearning. They whispered, "Next year in Jerusalem. Next year in the promised land."
(APPLAUSE)
As the prime minister of Israel, I speak for a hundred generations of Jews who are dispersed throughout the lands, who suffered every evil under the sun, but who never gave up hope of restoring their national life in the one and only Jewish state.
Ladies and gentlemen, I continue to hope that President Abbas will be my partner in peace. I've worked hard to advance that peace.
The day I came into office, I called for direct negotiations without preconditions. President Abbas didn't respond.
I outlined a vision of peace of two states for two peoples. He still didn't respond.
I removed hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints to ease freedom of movement in the Palestinian areas. This facilitated a fantastic growth in the Palestinian economy. But again, no response.
I took the unprecedented step of freezing new buildings in the settlements for 10 months. No prime minister did that before, ever.
(APPLAUSE)
Once again -- you applaud, but there was no response. No response.
In the last few weeks, American officials have put forward ideas to restart peace talks. There were things in those ideas about borders that I didn't like. There were things there about the Jewish state that I'm sure the Palestinians didn't like. But with all my reservations, I was willing to move forward on these American ideas.
President Abbas, why don't you join me? We have to stop negotiating about the negotiations. Let's just get on with it. Let's negotiate peace.
(APPLAUSE)
I spent years defending Israel on the battlefield. I spent decades defending Israel in the court of public opinion.
President Abbas, you've dedicated your life to advancing the Palestinian cause. Must this conflict continue for generations, or will we enable our children and our grandchildren to speak in years ahead of how we found a way to end it?
That's what we should aim for. And that's what I believe we can achieve.
In two-and-a-half years we met in Jerusalem only once, even though my door has always been open to you. If you wish, I'll come to Ramallah.
Actually, I have a better suggestion. We've both just flown thousands of miles to New York. Now we're in the same city. We're in the same building. So let's meet here today in the United Nations.
(APPLAUSE)
Who's there to stop us? What is there to stop us? If we genuinely want peace, what is there to stop us from meeting today and beginning peace negotiations? And I suggest we talk openly and honestly.
Let's listen to one another. Let's do as we say in the Middle East. Let's talk dugli (ph). That means straightforward.
I'll tell you my needs and concerns. You'll tell me yours. And with God's help, we'll find the common ground of peace.
(APPLAUSE)
There's an old Arab saying that you cannot applaud with one hand. Well, the same is true of peace. I cannot make peace alone. I cannot make peace without you.
President Abbas, I extend my hand, the hand of Israel, in peace. I hope that you will grasp that hand.
We are both the sons of Abraham. My people call him Avraham. Your people call him Ibrahim.
We share the same patriarch. We dwell in the same land. Our destinies are intertwined. Let us realize the vision of Isaiah.
(SPEAKING HEBREW)
The people who walked in darkness will see a great light. Let that light be the light of peace.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of the General Assembly I wish to thank --
(END LIVE COVERAGE)
