Arab League Official criticizes Obama’s UN speech

An Arab League official Thursday criticized what came in US President Barack Obama’s speech at the United Nations on Wednesday. Mohammad Sbeih, the Arab League's head of Palestine section, expressed concern regarding what came in Obama’s speech. He said in a press release that Obama ignored all the positive and great efforts the Arab and Palestinian parties have done for peace. He said Obama put the fate of the Palestinian state in the hands of the extremist, right-wing Israeli government, which does not want a Palestinian state, making it impossible to establish it according to the American argument. He added that he was both surprised and shocked because Obama talked of human rights while the Palestinian human rights were totally disregarded, especially their right to self-determination; by Israel, which depends on protection from the US. Sbeih warned Washington that this protection promotes Israeli aggression and harms the peace process and US interests in the area. He said “the US position is unfair and encourages Israeli extremism, which makes it lose its credibility as a patron of the peace process and reinforces radicalism in the area.” He criticized US threat to use the veto at the Security Council against the Palestinians’ UN full membership bid, demanding that the US administration should reassess it policy in the region “because the situation cannot go on as is, and there is no way there will be stability in the area as long as the Palestinian people are treated unfairly.”