PA President formally asks UN to admit Palestine as full member state

In a historic move, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas formally asked the United Nations on Friday to admit Palestine as a full member state, a step which is expected to face an American announced veto, as the Israeli enemy ‘regretting’ out of its belief that the only road to the so-called peace is through negotiations.

Abbas handed the application letter to UN chief Ban Ki-moon buoyed by more than 120 nations which have already recognized a Palestinian state. He made the request in a letter, handed to Ban in a white folder adorned with a Palestinian eagle logo. The UN secretary general opened the folder briefly to study it.

In his speech before the UN General Assembly after submitting the request, Abbas warned that Israel's policy of settlements will "destroy chances" of a two-state solution to the conflict. "This policy will destroy the chances of achieving a two-state solution upon which there is an international consensus," Abbas said. "This settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence," he added.

The PA President said Israel has "smashed against the rocks" all efforts to reach a peace deal explaining why he had pressed his bid for UN membership of his state. "All of these sincere efforts and endeavors undertaken by international parties were repeatedly smashed against the rocks of the positions of the Israeli government, which quickly dashed the hopes raised by the launch of negotiations last September," he told the UN General Assembly.

The Palestinian leader won huge applause and a standing ovation Friday from some of the assembly as he entered the hall shortly after asking the UN to admit the state of Palestine.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said that the Palestinian bid for UN membership will be "quickly" handled and sent to the UN Security Council. Speaking after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met UN leader Ban Ki-moon, the spokesman said: "The appropriate procedural reviews will be quickly undertaken in the secretariat and afterwards will be transmitted to the president of the Security Council and the president of the General Assembly."

Reaction from the Israeli enemy was swift, saying the Zionist entity regrets the move. "We regret the step," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Gidi Shmerling told AFP. "We believe that the only path to true peace is through negotiations and not unilateral steps."

Meanwhile, huge crowds packed into the main towns and cities of the West Bank on Friday as people turned out to support the Palestinian bid to seek UN membership. The crowds began gathering as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas handed over the request.

In Lebanon, thousands of Palestinian refugees gathered in support for the UN bid. "We are here to back the Palestinian leadership," said Menhem Awad, a local Palestinian official, as the crowd waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags and chanted traditional songs. "The refugees are those most aware of the right of return to their land," Awad added.

Awad said although Abbas's bid at the UN may be unsuccessful given fierce opposition from Israel and the United States, it did not mean an end to the struggle for statehood. "If we don't win this round, we will the next one," he said. "A veto will be a burden the United States will have to bear because it will be standing in the way of a people's right to a state. And that will constitute a weakness for them."

The Beirut gathering was being held at a stadium near one of the refugee camps. A large banner above the stadium read: "The state is coming, like it or not."