Abbas: Palestinian UN bid not aiming to isolate Israel

President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the Palestinian bid to the United Nations does not aim to isolate Israel or confront the United States, but aspires to seek full recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state within 1967 borders and achieve full membership in the UN.   In a speech during the third Imams and Preachers Conference, Abbas said, “We thus aim to lay the foundations for a reality where peace, justice and co-existence prevail in place of oppression, injustice and aggression, and to put an end to this conflict and occupation which is the longest in contemporary history.” He pointed out that the Israeli occupation and ongoing settlement has destroyed any dream of having a sovereign Palestinian state within 1967 borders, adding that “our right to have a free and independent state is what encourages us to seek UN recognition after reaching a dead end in the bilateral negotiations with Israel, while settlement and the Judaization of Jerusalem continue at an unprecedented rate.” Abbas said the Palestinian reconciliation is a priority because it unites Palestinians on both political and psychological levels, and that seeking UN recognition while achieving the Palestinian reconciliation strengthens the Palestinian stance in front of the world.