Abbas says ‘fully confident’ ahead of UN upgrade bid

RAMALLAH, West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday said he was “fully confident” ahead of a fresh attempt to seek upgraded Palestinian status at the United Nations on Nov. 29.
“We are going to the UN fully confident in our steps. We will have our rights because you are with us,” he told a crowd of around 1,000 people demonstrating support for the bid to upgrade the Palestinian rank from that of an observer entity to an observer state.
“We ask for a just peace, which is agreed on by the international community which will give us our state with east Jerusalem as its capital. Without that, there is no hope at all,” he said.
Abbas said the attempt to secure upgraded status was backed by many UN member states and by all the Palestinian political factions.
“We are on our way to the United Nations and there are a lot of states supporting us, who support peace and justice. All of the factions are with us in going to the United Nations,” he said.
Last week, Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement denied a report by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA that Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya had expressed support for the UN bid in a phone call with Abbas.
Abbas said the UN move would be followed by steps to bridge the bitter political divide between his Fatah movement and its Islamist rival Hamas.
“Today, the UN. After that, reconciliation, and after that, our own state,” he said.