about how what one of his team described as a bomb shell speech to the united nations. as we go to james bayes, reading the speech, james, i have the speech here and then listening to him deliver it, it would appear to me that he is effectively ripping up the oslo agreement. we declare as long as israel refuses to commitment to the agreement signed with us, they leave us no choice but than to insist we will not remain the only ones, we cannot continue to be bound by these agreements. is oslo dead? >> reporter: it seems to be. some would say oslo has been dead for a long time. but he is making a very important statement here, those oslo according which gave the palestinians a measure of self rule, different amounts of rule in different parts of their

territory, they are basically saying, well, israel didn't comply, israel was the one that broke the oslo according, so we are not going to accept them anymore, and we are going to now demand that israel takes on its responsibility as the occupying power. that by implication, i think means that israel would inevitably be responsible for services and security in the west bank, certainly where israel has a presence in the gaza strip, israel is surrounding the gaza strip, imprisoning, some would say, the gaza strip, but obviously doesn't have any presence in the immediate area. that was definitely the bomb shell. i think it really matters now whether it is implemented by the palestinians and exactly how it is going to be implemented. for example, the palestinian police force that pat roles some of these areas, is he going to say, no, go home. let the israelis patrol that

area? that's not clear to me. what is clear that he made a strong call there, that there should be no violence associated with this move. but i think there has certainly been the threat there many times before. and he said the oslo accords are effectively dead before. now he is saying we're not going to respect them, and you run it all. i think it's also worth remarking that there is somewhat of an cotra diction with the early part of the speech where he said everyone should recognize palestine as the state, and what we're going to see, which is the flying of the palestinian flag, he said there can only be a two-state solution, and we're not yet a recognized state, and the other position at the end of the speech, which is basically we're handing back the authority given to us by the as low accord some 22 years ago, handing it back to

the occupying power. >> yes, this was yasser arafat in the 1990s, the agreement by both sides that they would go for a two-stated solution. how about this intermation. he was saying yes, please support a palestinian state, but we are not now committed to working with israel. we are saying every single agreement that has been made, you have broken, why should we be party to that? we want the rest of the world to come on to our side, and 139 countries have voted to have this palestinian flag held up at the united nations. he is saying he want our state, but we don't really care whether israel comes with us in this plan. >> reporter: i think you are right, david, and he's making it

clear, very much, that the blame for all of this was on israel. it is israel that has not respected the two-state solution, and the oslo process rather than palestinians. in the early part of the speech, he talked about some of those -- what he calls crimes by israel, the death of children, for example, the recent violence in the old city of jerusalem, which he said was entirely caused, in his view, by the israelis. all of that billing up to what was billed as a bomb shell and clearly is a very important development in the long time line here of this conflict, a conflict that has gone on pretty much all the time that the u.n. has been in existence. obviously this u.n. general assembly, the 70th anniversary. >> james for now we'll leave it. because we're going to go to jerusalem to imran khan who is

there. and president abbas made the point -- i beg your pardon in a ramallah. he made the point that he still expects the palestinian flag flying above jerusalem, and on the other hand he is saying we'll get there with or without you, israel. >> reporter: indeed. mr. abbas had been saying for many days that this was going to be a bomb shell speech. we didn't quite get that. what we got was a very spark warning. and that is about the osloing s -- oslo accord, which was signed 20 years ago. he said that israel hasn't held up to the according to many many

many years, why are we still cooperating? the big question i suppose is something you were talking with james about which is the security cooperation? what will this mean if the oslo according are dead? at this stage we don't know. you might be able to hear music behind me, the reason for that is because there's about -- a few hundred people just behind me in yasser arafat square who are there to watch the raisingover this mrag. it's an important moment for palestinians, but this very pointed speech also raises an awful lot of questions, which is what exactly does he mean by his statements where he says that we cannot move any further; that israel hasn't held up its side of the agreement? . and that is a question for mr. abbas, but i think it's something that will go down quite well with the people behind me. this is al jazeera america

live from new york city crossing over now from our colleagues in ramallah and doha, where they have been commenting on the speech made by president abbas, with a call for international protection for the palestinian people. we will more on that in just a moment. but first russia says it has begun operation against isil in syria, moscow saying it is supporting the syrian army with air strikes to tackle the group, but the u.s. says it has grave concerns that the air strikes are actually hitting syrian opposition forces. let's head to our senior washington correspondent, mike viqueira in washington. mike, of course we want to talk about what is happening at the u.n., but let's first talk about what is happening in syria with the military action by russia. what is secretary of state john kerry saying about this? >> a flurry of activity here,

and obviously the situation on the ground in syria, very troubling for the united nations. it comes on the heels of those dualel opening speeches between president obama and vladimir putin on monday. vladimir putin himself in the past days deploying russian troops, fighter jets, tanks, personnel, to syria to bolster the regime of bashar al-assad. no secret he was going to initiate some sort of military activity, but the way this has happened today the targets at odds perhaps with what the u.s. and its coalition is targeting, has raised a lot of questions. a russian general walked into the embassy, saying that russia was going to start flying these

fighter jet missions, fighter bomber missions over the skies of syria, and very shortly thereafter, those missions were in fact flown. now the question is who exactly were the russians targeting this morning when they flew these missions? were they targeting isis or others that perhaps are allies of the united states? secretary kerry is at the united nations at this moment. he is attending an anti terrorism conference as it happens that was convened by russia and its foreign minister. >> we have also made clear that we would have grave concerns should russia strike areas where isil and al-qaeda affiliated targets are not operating. strikes of that kind would question russia's real intentions of fighting isil or protecting the assad regime.

>> washington is still absorbing this information. we expect to hear from the white house very shortly in the daily briefing. secretary kerry and others here at the pentagon have said that the coalition campaign against isil, the air strikes on the part of the coalition will continue, randall. >> mike, we have heard a lot in the past few days about a deacon flikt resolution or agreement between russia and the u.s. to ensure our forces are not in conflict. and we have heard that russia has asked the u.s. to avoid russian air space during these strikes. >> this is a power play by putin no doubt about it. the russian general according to pentagon sources talking into the american embassy, and informing the united states

government that those russian-flown missions were going to begin. you talk about deacon - deacon -- deconflict, and what it amounts to is they want to ensure the united states wants to ensure the coalition arias sets, fighter jets and fighter bombers do not come into conflict with russians. obviously a tinderbox of potential conflict. everybody wants to avoid that. but there has not been an agreement yet, and that too is a matter of grave concern in washington. >> thanks mike viqueira in washington. the palestinian president just addressed the general assembly in the u.n. let's lead to john terrett who is there and listened to abbas's speech. he promised a bomb shell.

did he deliver john? >> reporter: he more than delivered in the end. just a little bit of context for you. remember, president abbas is in a situation whereby what we thought of as the international conflict is going on elsewhere. in that is the situation involving syria, and iraq, and the refugees and isil. so president abbas has been desperately to try to get his crisis back on the public agenda. so he knew he had to do something drastic. we were told by the arab media over the last couple of days to row back from the notion; that in the end it wouldn't be much of a bomb shell, but in the end it was, because president abbas appears to be distancing himself from the oslo according, signed

in 1993, and 1995. those accords were negotiated in secret, involving the then palestinian leader arafat, and the oslo diplomats took the lead. nobody knew what was going on, and now there was a chance for peace on the table. and now he is saying those were designed to give us a palestinian state. that clearly has not happened. and israel has not complied with much of the accords, and now which won't respect or comply with them either, and he has demanded that israel take full responsibility for the west bank. of course israel already completely surrounded the gaza strip, which is controlled by ham mass. but he is calling on israel taking responsibility for the west bank. we'll have to see how this pans out, but it is very interesting. this is quite a significant

development, and will recite a ripple of interest throughout the diplomatic world. it also flies in the face briefly, randall, of the flag-raising ceremony, where they are raising the flag here, it's a very symbolic thing for the palestinians. that would imply they are doing all they can to end up with a proper state, and now he seems to be handing back those oslo accords. >> the argument could be made that given the fact that the palestinians only control about 48% of the west bank, what he is saying is that israel rules the day there. >> but i think it's the fact he said it in this forum, which lends it extra weight. and nobody is looking at the israeli palestinian crisis in the world right now.

talks were abandoned earlier. so no one is talking about that crisis. they are all talking about syria, iraq, the refugees and isil. and abbas has changed that now at least for the next 24 hours. >> john terrett thank you. by the end of the week we will know who the next house speaker will be. john boehner released this statement today: the house today will take up a stopgap government bill that will keep the government running until december, but the measure does not defund planned parenthood. a demand that some republicans were making. michael shure joins us from washington. does this mean the government

won't shut down? >> well, it means it won't shut down for now randall. what they are going to do is vote on this measure. they voted on it 78-20. another surprise. 78-20 in the senate was a lot bigger than most people thought, and it speaks a little bit to what mitch mcconnell was able to do with the conservative wing of his senate caucus there in the senate. but it doesn't mean that it is going to go away. it goes until december 11th. and that is one of the things that has frustrated harry reid. >> looking at the clock, now, we are almost 14 hours away from what could have been another republican shutdown of the federal government. this is totally unnecessary. we'll likely avert a shutdown tonight, but they brought us dangerously close. >> reporter: reid knows what is at play. he knows that the republicans are stalling. it's going to go to the house, get voted on in the house, but

he is saying negotiations have to continue to get this budget done, and he wants it done before john boehner leaves office. and that might remain tough. >> john boehner had said he is going to remain in office until the end of october. are you sensing that he is being pushed out earlier than he wanted to leave? >> reporter: i don't think he'll leave any time soon. the 30th is his deadline, but i think what he wants to do now is enjoy these next three weeks in that they free him up to push things forward that he might not otherwise have been able to do. there are already negotiations going on between mcconnell, boehner and the president. >> thank you, michael shure in washington. handling isil and saving syria, it is the top of the agenda at the united nations this week. we'll talk to the director of unesco to see what can be done to preserve antiques. ♪

every day. it's not always pretty... but it's real. and we show you like no-one else can. this is our american story. this is america tonight. the war in syria is dominating talks at the united nations this week with several world leaders denouncing isil's role in that conflict. then came news today that russia launched its first air strike in syria. both the u.s. and russia view isil as a common enemy. but russia supports syrian president and the u.s. wants him out. there is also growing concern in recent weeks over isil's

destruction of ancient ruins in palmyra. with unesco calling their actions a crime against civilization. we're pleased to have join us the director general of unesco. tell us please, how extensive is the damage to antiques that has been caused in recent months by isil? >> the damage inflicted on the world heritage on many sites of historic importance for the whole of humanity is huge. it's immense. it's an enormous tragedy for the whole of humanity. we are seeing images of destruction in palmyra, we have seen destruction of bulldozing, and sites being looted, and the dark side of all of this, of course is the illicit archaeological excavations. we see [ inaudible ] of some of

these objects, and i think within the overall debate here at the united nations of how to counter violent extremism, there is a lot of political commitment to engage in the fight against illicit trafficking, and also to protect these sites. >> let me ask you for a specific action that you think could be reasonably taken in the midst of armed conflict to protect the remaining sites. >> i think what is very important and we have to emphasize this. it's not innocent -- the illicit excavation is not innocent. yesterday there was an important conference organized here, i was invited to speak, unesco was there, with the department of treasury, and with many

agencies, and there were lots of concrete examples of how we stop with illicit trafficking. we have asked member states. i have reports of 33 countries which have strengthening their institutions, working with the different levels, and i think this is an important work in the making. and what i'm appealing also because indeed the deliberate destruction of heritage of religious sites is a war crime, according to the rome statute, established in the international criminal court. the good news is after two year's work in the in addition criminal court, we have the first suspect in mali when the [ inaudible ] of [ inaudible ] were destroyed and when the manuscripts have been burned out. we have the first subject which

will be indicted and in front of the international criminal court. i think impunity for such crimes should be stopped. >> from your perspective how do you explain thousands of years of military conflict that protected all of these ancient sites and suddenly we have a group of people who seem intent dating back to the bombing of the statutes in afghanistan 12 years ago, to the prevent, seem intent on destroying. >> i would say in the modern history, we haven't seen such level of destruction, and that is why, i think the international communique and unesco are so worried about it. we have to go to the roots of this destructive ideology. terrorists and extremists are intimidated by history.

history delegitimizes them. because they want to erase identities. they want to erase history. because history speaks against them. and that is why they are so active. i think the fight -- the -- to combat violent extremism, also we have to go to schools, teach history, teach these young people about human rights, about -- we have to give them cultural competencies, about mutual respect. i think one of the reasons is that in this interconnected world, people have to live differently. we have to live together. we have know that tolerance is not something that is distant of us. we are in urban developments in -- with migration, so people are living -- living without us next door. so we have to use education and

give different competencies to these people. it's a huge task that we have ahead of us. it has been i would say immensely ignored these last years. >> director general of the unesco, thank you very enough for joining us on al jazeera america. we'll be back after this.

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the united auto union is preparing to strike at the ford plant. they have been at odds over a new collective bargaining agreement. if they do not reach a deal, the plant will shut down by the end of the week. around 7500 workers would walk off of the job. as of today you can get behind the wheel of an all-electric suv, tesla putting the model up for sale. it is billed as the world's fastest suv, going from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 3.2 seconds. but it is the rare falcon doors everyone is talking about. and in case you are interested, the model x can be yours for $132,000. thank you for joining us. i'm randall pinkston. the news continues next live from london. we'll continue to bring you

speeches from the united nations general assembly throughout the day. right here on al jazeera america. ♪ 15. >> the palestinian flag to be raised at the united nations. we are watching al jazeera live from london. i'm david forest. also coming up in the next 30 minutes. russia airstrikes on target in syria. russia said it is ready to talk to the united states about military cooperation. sending reinforcements t