President Mahmoud Abbas made a speech confirming that the Palestinian leadership will ask for a full membership state of Palestine next Friday at the United Nations. The speech came to put an end to the questions and doubts whether the Palestinians will really ask for a full membership or will only ask for an upgrade of their status at the UN. Not only that a final decision was made about the kind of state that will be asked but a complete review of the last two years steps was presented.Three major points that were discussed were related to the division between the American and Palestinian opinions, reasons for going to the UN and a confirmation that the PLO will continue to represent the Palestinian people until the conflict is completely solved and the solutions are applied on the ground. A remark was made through the speech about President Obama’s vision of a Palestinian state that was introduced in his speech at Cairo University and later at the last opening of the United Nations round in the last year.
President Abbas stated that the Palestinians are not taking any kind of unilateral steps especially that the American leadership and the Quartet stated before that any negotiations process must end by September and bring the Palestinian state into recognition at the UN. Another important point that was made is related to the failure of the peace process in the last couple of years because of the Israeli government refusal to discuss what the Palestinians want to negotiate and continue to change facts on the ground regarding settlements and East Jerusalem.President Abbas stated clearly that any Palestinian state will be on the 1967 occupied lands borders and must have East Jerusalem as its capital.Palestinian Refugees Right of Return was mentioned as the number one priority that must be solved before anything else. The Palestinian leadership also stated that the PLO will continue to be the higher representative of the Palestinian people until a solution is reached and applied on the ground for every single point that the Palestinians are demanding. This put an end to the claims which were made about the negative effect that the declaration of the state would leave on the representation of the Palestinians inside the Palestinian territory and in the refugees camps. A new strategy is what the Palestinian leadership is trying to present these days. Since the Oslo agreement, the Israeli Palestinian conflict was directed through continuous negotiations. Unfortunately the situation today is much worse than before and the Israeli current leadership continues to try to put new facts on the ground. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated several times that Jerusalem, the refugees case and the consideration of the 1967 occupied lands as a base for the Palestinian state are all not accepted by the Israeli government.Not only that, but settlements continued to be built through the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The decision to return to the Security Council and the United Nations to ask for an International interference in the process will change the whole negotiations strategy that was held until today. More than 129 countries already recognized the Palestinian state and support for its establishment is increasing through the world. It is clear that the Palestinian leadership is not seeking a de-legitimizing of Israel as a state but it definitely wants to de-legitimize the Israeli occupation and policy towards the Palestinians. It is also clear that there would be a veto against the recognition of a Palestinian State at the Security Council but there will be another chance at the General Assembly.Palestinians consider the plan itself and the decision to return to the United Nations an accomplishment that will change the future of the ''Palestinian Case'' and make freedom closer to them.