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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Abbas vow on Israel recognition | Abbas vow on Israel recognition |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said that any new Palestinian government would recognise Israel. | Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has said that any new Palestinian government would recognise Israel. |
| Mr Abbas told the UN General Assembly a planned national unity government would meet the demands of the "Quartet" of Middle East peace mediators. | Mr Abbas told the UN General Assembly a planned national unity government would meet the demands of the "Quartet" of Middle East peace mediators. |
| The current Hamas-led government has refused to recognise Israel - one of the Quartet's key demands. | The current Hamas-led government has refused to recognise Israel - one of the Quartet's key demands. |
| Earlier, Kofi Annan warned failure to resolve the Middle East conflict was damaging Security Council credibility. | Earlier, Kofi Annan warned failure to resolve the Middle East conflict was damaging Security Council credibility. |
| 'Olive branch' | 'Olive branch' |
| Referring to an exchange of letters between the Palestinian and Israeli leaders in 1993, Mr Abbas said: "These two letters contain a reciprocal recognition between the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] and Israel, reject violence and call for negotiations to reach a permanent settlement with the creation of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel." | Referring to an exchange of letters between the Palestinian and Israeli leaders in 1993, Mr Abbas said: "These two letters contain a reciprocal recognition between the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organisation] and Israel, reject violence and call for negotiations to reach a permanent settlement with the creation of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel." |
| The Arab-Israeli conflict carries a powerful symbolic and emotional charge for people throughout the world Kofi AnnanUN secretary general The Palestinian Authority (PA) leader is negotiating a unity government between his Fatah faction and Hamas, who swept to victory in March, leading to a suspension of Western aid. | The Arab-Israeli conflict carries a powerful symbolic and emotional charge for people throughout the world Kofi AnnanUN secretary general The Palestinian Authority (PA) leader is negotiating a unity government between his Fatah faction and Hamas, who swept to victory in March, leading to a suspension of Western aid. |
| Echoing former PA leader Yasser Arafat address to the UN in 1974, Mr Abbas said that this moment represented an olive branch of opportunity. | Echoing former PA leader Yasser Arafat address to the UN in 1974, Mr Abbas said that this moment represented an olive branch of opportunity. |
| "I come to you bearing the wounds of a people who seek to live a normal life... not be victims of the cruelty of history. | "I come to you bearing the wounds of a people who seek to live a normal life... not be victims of the cruelty of history. |
| "I simply want tomorrow to be better than today. I want Palestine to be independent and sovereign... Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand." | |
| His comments came as the Security Council met to discuss the Middle East conflict in a bid to get the peace process back on track. | His comments came as the Security Council met to discuss the Middle East conflict in a bid to get the peace process back on track. |
| UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the assembled ministers that peace between a new Palestinian state and a secure Israel remained distant and ill-defined. | UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the assembled ministers that peace between a new Palestinian state and a secure Israel remained distant and ill-defined. |
| "Like no other conflict, the Arab-Israeli conflict carries a powerful symbolic and emotional charge for people throughout the world," Mr Annan said. | "Like no other conflict, the Arab-Israeli conflict carries a powerful symbolic and emotional charge for people throughout the world," Mr Annan said. |
| "And our continued failure to resolve this conflict calls into question the legitimacy and the effectiveness of this council itself." | "And our continued failure to resolve this conflict calls into question the legitimacy and the effectiveness of this council itself." |
| The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says this special Security Council meeting could mark a significant moment in the quest for peace in the Middle East. | The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says this special Security Council meeting could mark a significant moment in the quest for peace in the Middle East. |
| Against a backdrop of what almost every observer notes is a bleak diplomatic landscape in the region, this debate does at least mark a renewed collective effort by the Arab world to get the peace process back on track, he says. | Against a backdrop of what almost every observer notes is a bleak diplomatic landscape in the region, this debate does at least mark a renewed collective effort by the Arab world to get the peace process back on track, he says. |