28/8/11 - Palestine statehood 'step forward': Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday that the potential recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Nations should only be a "step forward" for the "full liberation" of Palestine.

His strong remarks calling for Israel's "disappearance" came as tens of thousands marched in the capital at a "Quds Day" rally, an annual regime-sanctioned demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians and against Israel, according to footage aired on state television.

The broadcast showed large crowds in major cities, carrying banners of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America."

"The recognition of an independent Palestinian government is not the ultimate goal... (but) only a step forward for the full liberation of the Palestinian land," Ahmadinejad said at Friday prayers at Tehran University.

"The Zionist regime is the hotbed for germs and cancerous cells. If they persist even in a very small parcel of the Palestinian land, they will move again... and harm everyone" in the region, he said in comments broadcast on television.

Ahmadinejad reiterated that the Holocaust was a "lie" which he said was used as an excuse for Israel's creation.

The hardline president, whose vitriolic attacks on the Jewish state and his dismissal of the Holocaust as a "myth" have drawn international condemnation, regularly rails against Israel.

"The goal of all believers and justice seekers should be focused on the disappearance of the Zionist regime," he said as the worshippers shouted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America."

He also warned Israelis that they "had no place" in the Middle East.

"Your era is over. It is in your interest to return to your homes... You have no place in our region and among our nations."

The Palestinians are to formally submit their request for statehood to UN chief Ban Ki-moon on September 20, when world leaders begin gathering in New York for the 66th session of the General Assembly.

The decision comes after direct peace talks with Israel ran aground late last year in an intractable dispute over Jewish settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land.

Israel is strongly opposed to such a move, saying negotiations are the only way to resolve the conflict and establish a Palestinian state -- a position backed by Washington, which has announced its intention to veto the request.

15/8/11 - 'Palestinians set date for statehood showdown at UN'

By GIL SHEFLER 
08/13/2011 16:46 

September 20 marked for Palestinian UN statehood bid, AFP reports; PA foreign minister says Abbas “will insist on this historic initiative and Ban Ki-moon will present the request to the Security Council.”

NEW YORK - The Palestinians set September 20th as the date for the much-anticipated vote over Palestinian statehood at the United Nations, according to AFP.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will ask the international community to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state on the first day of the annual opening gathering at UN headquarters in New York.

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“Abbas will personally present the request to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon... at the opening of the sixty-sixth session," he was quoted as saying by the French news wire. “[Abbas] will insist on this historic initiative and Ban Ki-moon will present the request to the Security Council.”

The announcement cast aside speculation that the Palestinians might quietly step back from their bid for statehood in response to mounting international pressure against it.

Israel adamantly opposes the Palestinian move saying a unilateral declaration of independence would be detrimental to the peace process.

In recent months it has been engaged in extensive diplomatic efforts to prevent a confrontation with Palestinians at the UN over statehood. The US has publicly said it would oppose such a vote in the Security Council and independent observers like theNew York Times have argued pressing for Palestinian independence given Israel's and the US's opposition would be “profoundly damaging to all involved.”

Last month, an open session at the Security Council on the Middle East turned into a dress rehearsal for the expected vote in September.

“With international political and financial support this plan has reached its objectives as acknowledged by the international community,” a Palestinian envoy told the Security Council. “We have completed our responsibilities and are ready to govern ourselves.We cannot keep waiting for Israel to negotiate with good faith.”

Israel retorted by saying Palestinians were deeply divided between Hamas and Fatah, which have fought each other in a civil war, and that recognition of Palestinian statehood would bring instability to the region.

“On behalf of whom will you present a resolution in September? Mr. Abbas or Hamas?” asked Israel’s ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor. “Will it be on behalf of both the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas terrorist organization, which advances a charter calling for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews?"