He won huge applause and a partial standing ovation as he later stepped up to address the UN General Assembly and vowed the Palestinians were ready to return to peace talks if Israeli settlement activities cease.

Waving a copy of the request, Abbas said he had submitted an “application for the admission of Palestine on the basis of the June 4 1967 borders” with Jerusalem as its capital.

Explaining why he had pressed the Palestinian bid despite the opposition, Abbas said all previous peace efforts “were repeatedly smashed against the rocks of the positions of the Israeli government.”

But the Palestinian leader stressed the Palestinians did not want to “isolate or de-legitimise” Israel.

‘Destroy chances’
The Palestinians only wanted to end Israel’s settlement policy which he said will “destroy chances” of a two-state solution to the decades-only conflict.

“This settlement policy threatens to also undermine the structure of the Palestinian National Authority and even end its existence,” he said.

Reaction from Israel was swift, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly afterwards addressing the General Assembly, saying Israel wanted peace, but accusing the Palestinian leadership of refusing peace efforts.

CONTINUES BELOW

“I extend my hand to the Palestinian people with whom we seek a just and lasting peace,” the Israeli premier said in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly shortly after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas submitted a statehood bid.

“The truth is that Israel wants peace, the truth is that I want peace… The truth is that we cannot reach peace through UN resolutions but through negotiations. The truth is that so far the Palestinians have refused to negotiate,” he said.

Diplomatic wrangling
Ban will now pass the landmark request to the UN Security Council, but a vote on admitting the Palestinians as a full member state could take weeks, leaving time for more diplomatic wrangling.

UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky said the Palestinian bid would be “quickly” handled.

Despite the warm welcome by many countries, the US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice sat stony-faced during Abbas’s speech and did not applaud.

‘No shortcuts
In a Twitter message she said only direct talks could lead to peace.

“When the speeches end today, we must all recognise that the only way to create a state is through direct negotiations. No shortcuts,” she said.

Palestinians were seized by the historic nature of the moment, which comes more than six decades after the creation of Israel in 1948.

Crowds in Ramallah and across the West Bank roared their approval.

“With our souls, with our blood, we will defend Palestine!” they roared as widescreen televisions relayed live footage of Abbas holding up a copy of the membership demand he had personally handed to UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

But fearing a spurt of violence, some 22(194)Â000 Israeli police and border police were on high alert with forces deployed along the Green Line between Israel and the West Bank, in annexed east Jerusalem, and around Arab Israeli towns.

In a sign of the tensions, a Palestinian was shot dead in clashes with Israeli troops that erupted after settlers attacked a village near Nablus on the West Bank.

Harsh retaliatory measures
Israeli officials have warned of harsh retaliatory measures if the Palestinians succeed in their bid, including a halt to funding for the Palestinian Authority. Right-wing members of the government have gone so far as to call for annexation of the West Bank.

Besides dealing a blow to Israel’s position in future peace negotiations, some fear UN recognition of a Palestinian state could allow Palestinians to launch legal action against Israeli military action.

Last-minute bargaining to divert the Palestinians from their course resumed Friday with a meeting of negotiators from the Middle East Quartet – – the United States, Russia, the European Union and United Nations.

Middle East envoy Tony Blair said Thursday’s talks ended around 1.30am, and a senior US official confirmed “quartet envoys are meeting this morning [Friday]”.

They are trying to hammer out a possible statement which could bring the two sides back to direct talks which have stalled since September 2010.

The United States has vowed to veto the bid at the UN Security Council, with the Palestinians needing to win the backing of nine of the 15 council members.

If that bid fails, they may well seek to be admitted as a non-member observer state by the General Assembly.

A French suggestion that Palestine be given an intermediate status as a United Nations observer nation remained on the table, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe’s spokesperson said Friday despite what he said were “Israeli reservations”.

Abbas was to leave New York after giving his UN speech to return to the Palestinian territories for consultations on the next step forward. – – AFP