Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ intention to approach UN for recognition of state

Because Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas wants the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state, regardless of the details of this state, a crisis seems to erupt in the region…

That’s it. The so-called international community rejects the recognition of a fundamental right of the Palestinian people, whereas the United States is committed to its veto “arm” to confront any attempt to defend this right.

In this context, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office rejected Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s reiteration of his intention to approach the United Nations for recognition of a Palestinian state, and claimed that peace cannot be achieved through a unilateral declaration and alignment with Hamas. “Peace can only be achieved through direct negotiations with Israel, a statement released by the Israeli PM’s office said, accusing the Palestinian Authority of consistently avoiding talks with Israel. It went on to say that “when the Palestinian Authority will abandon its futile measures, firstly its unilateral decision to approach the UN, it will find Israel as a partner for negotiations and peace.”

The statement was released shortly after P Abbas said that the Palestinians plan to approach the United Nations Security Council for full recognition. Abbas gave his address in Ramallah a week before the United Nations is set to vote on Palestinian statehood, which is due to take place in the UN General Assembly on September 23. "What I will take to the UN will be the suffering and concerns of our people that have been taking place over 63 years living under the occupation," Abbas said, adding that the Palestinians, like every nation, deserve independence, adding that the Palestinians want a state based on 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will set out for Washington on Saturday night, for a trip whose initial declared purpose is to meet with US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, CIA Director David Petraeus and other security and intelligence personnel.

Barak's schedule does not yet include a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama before his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on Tuesday. But senior government officials in the Obama administration are discussing the possibility of holding high level meetings to discuss means for solving the crisis with the Palestinians, Haaretz said.