The Palestinian people are in desperate need of peace, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said at the opening of his speech to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, ahead of the vote on his bid for a status upgrade.
"Palestine comes today to the General Assembly because it believes in peace and because its people, as proven in past days, are in desperate need of it," he said. However he warned, the "window of opportunity is narrowing."
The UN General Assembly is set to approve an implicit recognition of Palestinian statehood on Thursday night, despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding funds for the West Bank government.