Posted on 09/23/2011 9:57:19 AM PDT by Eyes Unclouded
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has handed over a historic request to UN chief Ban Ki-moon asking the United Nations to admit the state of Palestine as a full member.
The Palestinian leader won huge applause and a standing ovation on Friday from some of the assembly as he entered the hall before beginning his speech.
Abbas said he was ready to return to the negotiations, saying he did not want to isolate or delegitimize Israel.
"Here I declare that the Palestine Liberation Organization is ready to return immediately to the negotiating table on the basis of the adopted terms of reference ... and a complete cessation of settlement activities," he told the UN General Assembly.
Palestinians across the West Bank celebrated the formal submission of their bid to become a United Nations member state, despite opposition from the United States and Israel.
In city centres, giant television screens were set up so residents could watch Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, deliver a historic address to the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly.
The Palestinian religious affairs ministry directed mosques to issue calls "thanking Allah and asking him to help president Abbas to fulfill our people's dreams".
In Ramallah, the political capital of the West Bank, many cars were flying the Palestinian flag, and posters of Abbas and his predecessor, the late Yasser Arafat, festooned in the streets.
Near the Muqataa, Abbas's presidential headquarters, flags of the more than 125 nations that have recognised a Palestinian state flew in a circle around a Palestinian flag.
But in a sign of mounting tension, one Palestinian man died after being shot by Israeli troops who intervened in a clash between villagers and Jewish settlers south of the West Bank city of Nablus.
Friday gatherings
Streets have been largely empty on Friday and many people hurried home after midday prayers to escape a fast-moving storm.
In the southern city of Hebron, the municipality building was draped with a three-metre poster of Abbas and "Palestine 194", and similar decorations were hung in the northern cities of Nablus and Jenin.
"In Ramallah today, we expect to see [a rally of] around 10,000 people or even more," said Al Jazeera's Cal Perry, reporting from Ramallah.
"But [tension] is now being magnified on a global scale because of what's happening in New York," our correspondent said. "People on the ground here know the world is watching."
At the Qalandia checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem, the Israeli army fired tear gas into the crowds, with a military spokeswoman saying "around 100 rioters" were throwing stones at the troops.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that clashes also broke out in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ras Al-Amud.
In Nabi Saleh village, protesters chanted support for the UN bid, but activists also burnt a picture of Barack Obama, the US president, who has vowed to veto the membership bid at the UN Security Council.
Full membership bid
Full UN membership can only be bestowed by the Security Council where Abbas' request will almost certainly be derailed, either by a failure to win the needed nine votes in the 15-member body or, if the necessary majority is obtained, by a veto.
The Palestinians say they are seeking full UN membership to underscore their right to statehood, but have left open the option of a lesser alternative - a non-member observer state.
Such status would be granted by the General Assembly, where the Palestinians maintain broad support.
Siding with Israel, Obama has said a Palestinian state can only be established as a result of negotiations, and that there is no short-cut to Palestinian independence.
Abbas has said negotiations remain his preference, but that he will not resume talks - frozen since 2008 - unless Israel agrees to the pre-1967 frontier as a baseline and freezes all settlement construction on occupied land.
"The American administration did everything in its power to disrupt our project, but we are going through with it despite the obstacles and the pressure because we are asking for our rights," Abbas said late on Thursday.
"There are small countries in the world that have gained their freedom and independence, but we still haven't got ours," he told the Palestinian community in New York.
Palestinian state television has carried wall-to-wall coverage of the diplomatic drama playing out in New York, interviewing local officials and politicians and running a series of advertisements backing the UN membership push.
One featured a jigsaw puzzle of the globe as depicted in the UN logo, but with with a missing piece.
From the side of the screen, a piece in the colours of the Palestinian flag flies across and slots into place, completing the puzzle.
'Palestine freedom'
The three main Palestinian newspapers also dedicated their front pages to the bid, and the inside pages were dotted with paid advertisements from individuals and businesses expressing their support for Abbas and the UN move.
"The president delivers his speech to the General Assembly and presents a request for recognition of the state of Palestine," read the headline in Al-Quds newspaper, emblazoned over pictures of pro-bid demonstrations.
Another cartoon in the paper used the famous image of US soldiers raising their flag during the battle of Iwo Jima, replacing the US flag with the Palestinian one and the soldiers with Palestinians, some in traditional garb.
Al-Ayyam's headline read: "The president presents a request for full membership for Palestine in front of the world", while on the back, a cartoon showed Abbas at the UN podium shouting into a loudspeaker: "Freedom for Palestine".
In the Gaza Strip, however, life was continuing as normal with no sign of any activity to mark the UN bid, which has not been backed by the territory's Hamas rulers. Hamas activists in the West Bank reportedly declared Friday a "day of rage".
Speaking hours before Abbas was due to speak, senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the UN bid would not bring independence.
"Our Palestinian people do not beg for a state ... States are not built upon UN resolutions. States liberate their land and establish their entities," he said.
Ban Ki-Moon’s decision to submit the Palestinian bid to the Security Council immediately instead of hanging on to it for a while is somewhat surprising. It also suggests that hopes for a compromise look more slender.
If the Palestinians were proving responsive to calls to delay the Security Council vote to give the Quartet time to find a formula to restart negotiations, the delaying tactics would have started here. Ban Ki-Moon allegedly told the Palestinians last week he could sit on their bid once they submitted it for as long as they wanted. Palestinian officials told me a few days ago that they could well play ball. I think things changed after Obama’s speech, which horrified the Palestinian camp and, indeed, the Palestinian public.
Ahhhhhhhhh yes
And there it is :)
The 2012 people will have a field day with this nugget
20:37 (15:37) Things are moving quickly tonight. The Quartet appears to have begun issuing a statement already, calling for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of 2012.
The leader of the free world, and some stoner dude...
the infowarrior
The leader of the free world, and some stoner dude...
the infowarrior
You are absolutely right about this and what follows as well. I am looking forward to what happens (before) the Tribulation though.
Bibi was raised up for such a time as this.
We are watching prophesy being played out.
Copying and circulation is encouraged, noting that the original (Grant Hamilton's "Spanish Brute") is in the public domain due to age. The original was in fact probably unfair to Spain, which was never proven to have blown up the U.S.S. "Maine." It is therefore fitting that the same excellent image be put back into service in a (psychological) war against genuine enemies of Civilization.
He's aging well.
Hubba, hubba.
Leni
What are Christians to do in view of these events? "Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Although these words were spoken to the Jewish people, we who grasp the truth of the prophetic Word know it also applies to the Church spiritually. True believers have no future here on earth. Our home is in heaven and our redemption lies in the completion of the Church. At that moment, when the last from among the Gentiles has been added to the Church, 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 will be fulfilled: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
So what happens next? Will there be a vote or just some vague promise of “getting together to negotiate”?
Interesting times we live in, that’s for sure!
(Latest message from Mike Evans)
I am here in New York City as your ambassador, standing for Israel against her enemies. Mahmoud Abbas presented his demand for full statehood recognition at the United Nations today, just minutes after telling a crowd of Palestinian leaders and supporters, “We shall not recognize a Jewish state.” Full recognition requires a vote of the Security Council, where the US has said it will use a veto if necessary to keep the measure from passing. There are also reports of widespread violence in Palestinian towns and senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said, “States are not built on UN resolutions; states liberate their own land.”
The news media has presented a very slanted version of events, and I don’t want you to be deceived. President Obama’s threat to veto the Security Council recognition of a Palestinian state does NOT mean that the danger is over. Behind the scenes, the President is placing enormous pressure on my dear friend Prime Minister Netanyahu to make the concessions being demanded by the Palestinians. Mr. Obama is not backing down in any way from his support of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Many analysts believe that a political decision has been made with an eye toward the 2012 elections to have the President appear to support Israel in public while privately working to force the Jewish state to make impossible concessions in the name of peace. While a US veto in the Security Council would be better than full UN recognition of Palestine as an independent nation, this matter is far from resolved. The pressure being brought to bear on Israel to give in is incredible.
Today the crucifixion of Israel is being prepared. The enemies of the Jewish people are fully committed to their destruction. If they are not stopped, they will rip Israel apart. No one knows exactly what the Palestinians will do today…or what the UN will do in response. This is a critical and pivotal prophetic moment, and I ask that you join me in urgent prayer for Israel and the Chosen People today.
The bottom line is this…while a Security Council veto would deny the Palestinians official member status they can also seek upgraded observer status at the General Assembly as a non-member state.
This could be interpreted as implicit UN recognition of Palestinian statehood because the assembly would be acknowledging that the Palestinians control an actual state. The advantage of this option is that it would require only a simple majority of the General Assembly. Since around 120 countries have already recognized the state of Palestine to date, it would likely win such a vote overwhelmingly.
If the Palestinians were to be recognized as a non-member state, they would be able to sign certain international treaties, such as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which they cannot currently sign. This will mean thousands of lawsuits against Israel and isolation and demonization of the State of Israel.
Every child of God must fight this battle in prayer. This is a spirit battle led by Satan himself…please join me right now in binding that spirit in the name of JESUS…and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Now is our moment. This is our time. God has brought us together for this defining crossroads moment of human history. Will you help me stand for Israel? Will you pray for God's blessing and protection for me on this vital trip?
Every nation and individual that supports the plan to curse Israel and steal from her the land God promised the Jews as an eternal possession will suffer His chastisement and judgment. Every nation and individual that opposes this plan and stands with Israel as a blessing to her will enjoy His blessing. That is why we have launched a national campaign to rally opposition to the Obama Administration's plan, to expose the anti-Semitism that lies behind world efforts to curse Israel, and to support the Jewish people.
America is on a prophetic countdown to the gravest days in our history. Israeli leaders have asked the Jerusalem Prayer Team for its support at the United Nations and as the nations of the world gather for the demonic Durban III conference to continue accusing Zionists of being racists. The first Durban Conference occurred in 2001. At that conference, the Palestinians distributed copies of the anti-Semitic The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion to all delegates. It was the most evil, anti-Semitic UN assembly ever against Israel.
The conference ended on September 8, 2001...and 72 hours later, the US was attacked by Radical Islam on 9/11. I can assure you that in the spirit realm, this was no coincidence. God's Word promises a curse on any nation that touches Jerusalem. Once before, an American President attempted to divide Jerusalem and surrender the Temple Mount to radical Islam. That president was Bill Clinton. Now President Obama plans to do the same—this time by formally recognizing a Palestine State at the UN in September within days of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
I do not believe for a second that all the economic and political turmoil America is going through is coincidental. America needs Divine intervention that can only come from God's people standing in the gap like Esther.
Barukh atah Adonai eloheinu melekh ha-olam, ozier Yisrael bigvurah.
Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, who girds Israel with might.
Your ambassador to Jerusalem,
Dr. Michael Evans PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDERSS BOOK AND ASK THEM TO JOIN US IN STANDING FOR ISRAEL
Thanks jhpigott.
They want freedom? Let them earn it by negotiating with Israel ( they must recognize Israel as a Jewish State) ot let them fight for their freedom. Obama trained the West Bank invasion ( so called police) force by sending US Army advisors .....The Sinai is full of jihadis, and Hamas is ready on the North and Syria is ready to the East.Let them come.
I doubt the Palestinians have what it takes....which is why they are whining to the United Nations.Obama thinks they have what it takes,,,,,which is why he has been playing both sides of the fence ( to get elected by NOT losing the Jewish vote at home) but in truth Obama has helped engineer the unrest which is pointed at the heart of Israel, from all points of the compass.
Obama is following the fascist pattern from his Alinsky play book.He fools no one who reads history.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html
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