of peace activists from israel and around the world, reflecting an impressive, inspiring and courageous example of the strength of this defenseless people, armed only with their dreams, courage, hope and slogans in the face of bullets, tanks, tear gas and bulldozers. when we bring our plight and our case to this international podium, it is a confirmation of our reliance on the political and diplomatic option and is a confirmation that we do not undertake unilateral steps. . .

let me hope that its implementation will be extended within the coming weeks. the full pillar of this was to return to the elections to be the by the rule of law, the exercise of democracy, and the protection of freedoms and equality of all citizens without any discrimination and the transfer of power. the reports issued recently by the committee, the united nations, the world bank, and the international monetary funds we believe have lauded

what has been accomplished and have considered it a remarkable and unprecedented model. here in this city described what has been accomplished as a remarkable international success story and confirmed the readiness of the palestinian people and their institutions for immediate independence of the state of palestine. that was the statement of the international community. i do not believe that anyone with a shred of conscience can reject our application for a

full membership in the united nations and our admission as an independent state. [applause] mr. president, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is no longer possible to redress the issue of the peace talks with the same means and methods that have been repeatedly been tried and proven unsuccessful. the crisis is far too deep to be effective. and it is far more dangerous to be simply circumvented.

or its explosion, it is neither possible nor practical nor acceptable to return to conducting business as usual as if everything is fine. it is future yile to go into negotiations without clear parameters and in the absence of credibility and the specific timetable negotiations will be meaningless as long as the occupation army on the ground continues to entrench its occupation instead of pulling it back and continues to change the dem graphy of our country in order to create a new basis on which to alter the borders. this is totally unacceptable. [applause]

ladies and gentlemen, this is a moment of truth. our people are waiting to hear the answer of the world. will it allow israel to continue the last occupation in the world? we are the last people to remain under occupation. will the world allow israel to occupy us forever? and will it allow israel to remain a state above the law and accountability? will it allow israel to continue to reject the council and the international court of justice and the positions of the overwhelming majority of countries in the world? is this acceptable? mr. president, the part of the crisis in our area isn't very, very simple and obvious. either there is those who

believe that we are an unnecessary people, unwanted people in the middle east or those who believe that in fact there is a missing state that needs to be established immediately. [applause] >> mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, i come before you today from the holy land, the land of palestine, the land of divine messages, ascencion of the prophet mohammed, peace be upon him. and the birth place of jesus christ, peace be upon him. and in the diaspora to say after 63 years of suffering of an ongroing tragedy enough, enough, enough.

[applause] it is time for the palestinian people to gain their freedom and independence. the time has come to end the suffering and the plight of millions of palestinian refugees in the homeland and in the diaspora, to end their displacement and to realize their rights, some of whom were forced to take refuge more than once in different places of the world. at a time when the arab peoples affirm their request for democracy in what is called now the arab spring, the time has come also for the palestinian spring, the time for independence. [applause] the time has come for our men,

women, and children to live normal lives. for them to be able to sleep without waiting for the worst that the next day will bring. for mothers to be assured that their children will return home without fear of being killed, arrested, or humiliated. for students to be able to go to their schools and universities without checkpointses obstructing them. the time has come for sick people to be able to reach hospitals normally and for our farmers to be able to take care of their good land without fear of the occupations using the land and its water which the war prevents access to, or the fear of the settlers. with their guard dogs.

who attack palestinians. they have been on our lands. they burned olive trees that have existed in palestine for hundreds of years. the time has come for the thousands of prisoners of consciousness and freedom to be released from the prisons to return to their families and their children to become a part of building their homeland for the freedom of which they have sacrificed so much. my people desire to exercise their rights to enjoy a normal life like the rest of humanity. they believe in what a great poet said standing here. standing here, staying here, perm annandale, eternal here.

and -- permanently. and we have one goal, one goal, one goal to be, and we shall be. ladies and gentlemen, we profoundly appreciate and value the positions of all states that have supported our struggle and our rights and recognize the state of palestine following the declaration of independence in 1988 as well as the countries that have recently recognized the state of palestine and those that have upgraded the level of palestine's reputation in the capitals. i also salute the secretary general who said a few days ago the word of truth. that the palestinian state should have been established years ago.

be assured that this support for our people is more valuable to them than you can imagine. for it makes them seem that someone is listening to their narrative and their -- and does not try to ignore the tragedy and the occupation from which they have so suffered. and it reinforces their hope that stems from the belief that justice is possible in this world. for the loss of hope is the most feroshese enemy of peace and the strongest ally of extremism. i say the time has come for my courageous and proud people,

after decades of displacement and colonial occupation and ceaseless suffering to live like other peoples of the earth, free in a sovereign and independent homeland. mr. president, i would like to inform you that before delivering this statement i, in my capacity as president of the state of palestine, as chairman of the executive committee of the palestine liberation organization submitted to his excellencey secretary general of the united nations an application for the admission of palestine on the basis of the borders of june 4, 1967 as

a full member of the united nations. this is a copy of the application.

i call upon mr. secretary general to expedite transmital of our request to the scurebt coin council and i call upon the distinguished members of the security council to vote in favor of our full membership. i also appeal to the states that have not yet done so to recognize the state of palestine. ladies and gentlemen, the support of the countries of the world for our endeavor is a victory for truth, freedom, justice, law, and international legitimacy and it provides tremendous support for the peace option and enhance it is chances of success of the negotiations. excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, your support for the establishment of the state of palestine and for its admission to the united nations as a full member is the greatest

contribution to peace-making in the land of peace and throughout the world. mr. president, i have come here today carrying a message from a courageous and proud people. palestine is being reborn. this is my message. may all the people of the world stand with the people of palestine as it marches stedfastly to its appointment with history with freedom, with independence right now. and i hope that we shall not wait for long. thank you all. [applause]

i invite him to address the general assembly. >> thank you, mr. president. ladies and gentlemen, israel has extended its hand in peace from the moment it was established 63 years ago. on behalf of israel and the jewish people, i extend that hand again today. i extend it to the people of

egypt and jordan with renewed friendship for neighbors with whom we have made peace. i extend it to the people of turkey with respect and good will. i extend it to the people of libya, tune easea, with admiration for those trying to build a democratic future. i extend it to the other peoples of north africa and the arabian peninsula. with whom we want to forge a new beginning. i extend it to the people of syria, lebanon, and iran, with all the courage of those fighting brutal repression. but most especially, i extend

my hand to the palestinian people with whom we seek a just and lasting peace. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, in israel our hope for peace never wanes. our scientists, doctors, innovators apply their genius to improve the world of tomorrow. our artists, our writers, enrich the heritage of humanity. now, i know that this is not exactly the image of israel that is often portrayed in this hall. after all, it was here in 1975

that the age-old yearning of my people to restore our national life and our ancient biblical homeland, it was then that this was branded rather shamefully as racism. and it was here in 1980, right here, that the historic peace agreement between israel and egypt wasn't praised. it was denounced. and it's here year after year that israel is unjustly singled out for condemnation and singled out for condemnation more often than all the nations

of the world combined. 21 out of the 27 general assembly resolutions condemn israel the one true democracy in the middle east. this is an unfortunate part of the u.n. institution. it's the theater of the absurd. it doesn't only cast israel as the villain, it often casts real villains in leading roles. qaddhafi's libya chaired the u.n. commission on human rights, saddam's iraq headed the u.n. committee on disarmament. you might say that's the past. well, here's what's happening now. right now. today. hezbollah controlled lebanon now presides over the u.n. security council. this means in effect that a

terror organization presides over the body entrusted with guaranteing the world security. you couldn't make this thing up. so here in the u.n. automatic majorities can decide anything. they can decide that the sun sets in the west or rises in the west. i think the first has already been preordained. they can also decide -- they have decided -- that the western wall in jeruselumlem, judism's holiest place is palestine occupied territory. and yet, even here in the general assembly the truth can sometimes break through. in 1984, when i was appointed israel ds ambassador to the

unite nation's i visited a great rabi. he said to me -- and ladies and gentlemen i don't want any of you to be offended because from personal experience of serving here i know there are many honorable men and women, many capable and decent people serving their nations here. but here's what the rabi said to me. he said to me you will be serving in a house of many lines. and then he said, remember, that even in the darkest place the light of a single candle can be seen far and wide. today i hope that the light of truth will shine if only for a few minutes in a hall that for too long has been a place of darkness for my country. so as israel's prime minister, i didn't come here to win applause.

i came here to speak the truth. the truth is -- [applause] the truth is that israel wants peace. the truth is that i want peace. the truth is that in the middle east at all times but especially during these turbulent days peace must be anchored in security. the truth is that we cannot achieve peace through u.n. resolutions but only through direct negotiations between the parties. the truth is that so far the palestinians have refused to negotiate. the truth is that israel wants peace with the palestinian state but the palestinians want a state without peace. and the truth is you shouldn't let that happen. ladies and gentlemen, when i first came here 27 years ago,

the world was divided between east and west. since then the cold war ended, great civilizations have risen from centuries of slumber, hundreds of millions have been lifted out of fert, and a remarkable thing is that, so far, this monumental historic shift has largely occurred peacefully. yet, a mall igsy is now growing between east and west that threaten the peace of all. it seeks not to liberate but to enslave. not to build but to destroy. that mall igsy is militant islam. it clokes itself in the mantle of a great faith yet it murders

jews, christians, and muslims alike with unforgiving impartiality. on september 11, it killed thousands of americans and it left the twin towers in smoldering ruins. last night, i laid a wreath on the 9/11 memorial. it was deeply moving. as i was going there, one thing echoed in my mind. the outrageous words of the president of iran on this podium yesterday implied that 9/11 was an american conspiracy . some of you left this hall.

all of you should have. [applause] since 9/11, militant islamists slaughtered countless other innocents. in london, in madrid, in baghdad and mum by, in tell aveeve and israel and every part of israel. i believe that the greatest danger facing our world is that this fan atism will arm itself with nuclear weapons and this is precisely what iran is trying to do. can you imagine that man who rant here yesterday, can you imagine him armed with nuclear weapons? the international community must stop iran before it's too late. if iran is not stopped, we will

all face the spebtor of nuclear terrorism. and the arab spring could soon become an iranian winter. that would be a tragedy. millions of arabs have taken to the streets to replace tyranny with liberty. and no one would benefit more than israel if those committed to freedom and peace would prevail. this is my hope. as the prime minister of israel, i cannot risk the future of the jewish state on wishful thinking. leaders must see reality as it is. not as it ought to be. we must do our best to shape the future, but we cannot wish away the dangers of the present. and the world around israel is definitely becoming more dangerous.

militant islam has already taken over lebanon and gaza. it is determined to tear apart the peace treaties between israel and egypt and between israel and jordan. it has poisoned arab minds against jews and israel, against america and the west. it opposes not the policies of israel but the existence of israel. now, some argue that the spread of militant islam especially in these turbulent times, if you want to slow it down, they argue, israel must hurry to make concessions. to make territory compromises. and this theory sounds simple. basically, it goes like this. leave the territory, and peace will be advanced. the moderates will be strengthened. the radicals will be kept at

bay. and don't worry about the pesky details of how israel will defend itself. international troops will do the job. these people say to me constantly, just make a sweeping offer and everything will work out. there's only one problem with that theory. we have tried it. and it hasn't worked. in 2000 israel made a sweeping peace offer that met virtually all of the palestinian demands. aira fat rejected it. palestinians then launched a terror attack that claimed 1,000 israeli lives. prime minister ol mart afterwards made an even more sweeping offer in 2008. president abbas didn't even respond to it. but israel did more than just make sweeping offers.

we actually left territory. we withdrew from lebanon in 2000 and from every square inch of gaza in 2005, that didn't calm the islamic storm. the militant islamic storm that threatens us. it only brought the storm closer and made it stronger. hezbollah and hamas fired thousands of rockets against our cities from the very territories we vacated. see, when israel left lebanon and gaza, the moderates didn't defeat the radskls. the moderates were devoured by the radicals. and i regret to say that international troops didn't stop the radicals from

attacking israel. we left gaza hoping for peace. we didn't freeze the settlements in gaza. we did exactly what the theory says. get out. go back to the 1967 border, dismantle the settlements. we uprooted thousands of people from their homes. we pulled children out of their schools and their kindergarten. we bull dozed synagogues. we even moved loved ones from their graves. and then, having done all that, we gave the keys of gaza to

president abbas. now, the theory says it should all work out. and president abbas and the palestinian authority now can build a peaceful state in gaza. you can remember that the entire world bought applauded. they applauded our withdrawal as an act of great statesmanship. as a bold act of peace. but ladies and gentlemen we didn't get peace. we got war. we got iran. which threw its proxy hamas promptly kicked out the palestinian authority. the palestinian authority collapsed in a day. in one day. president abbas just said on this podium that the

palestinians are armed only with their hopes and dreams. hopes, dreams, and 10,000 missiles and rockets supplied by iran, not to mention the river of lethal weapons now flowing into gaza from the signi, from libya and from elsewhere. thousands of missiles have already rained do you know on our city. so you might understand that, given all this, israelis rightly ask, what's to prevent this from happening again in the west bank? see, most of our major cities in the south of the country are within a few dozen kilometers from gaza. but in the center of the country opposite the west bank our cities are a few hundred

meters or at least a most a few kilometers from the edge. i want to ask you, would any of you bring danger so close to your city, to your family? would you act so recklessly with the lives of your citizens? israel is prepared to have a palestinian state in the west bank. but we are not prepared to have another gaza there. and that's why we need to have real security which the palestinians simply refuse to negotiate. israelis remember the bitter lessons of gazzavement many of israel's critics ignore them. they irresponsibly advise israel to go down the same perilous path again. you read what these people say

and it's as if nothing happened. they keep repeating the same advice, the same, as though none of this happened. and these critics continue to press israel to make far-reaching concessions without first assuring israel's security. they praise those who unwittingly feed the insasheable crocodile of militant islam as bold statesman. they cast as enemies of peace those of us who insist that we must first erect a sturdy barrier to keep the crocodile out. or, at the very least, jam an iron bar between its gaping jaws. so in the face of the labels and the libles, israel must heed better, better a bad press

than a good eulogy. and better still would be a fair press whose sense of history extends beyond breakfast and which recognizes israel's legitimate security concerns. i believe that in a serious peace negotiation these needs and concerns can be properly addressed. but they will not be addressed without negotiation. and the needs are many. because israel is such a tiny country. without jude yeensume air temperature in the west bank israel is all of nine miles wide. i want to put it for you in per spective because you're all in the city. that's about two thirds the length of manhattan. it's the distance between battery park and columbia university. and don't forget that the people who live in brooklyn and new jersey are considerably nicer than some of israel's

neighbors. so how do you protect such a tiny country? surrounded by people sworn to its destruction and armed to by iran? obviously you can't defend it from within that narrow space alone. israel needs greater strategic depth. and that's exactly why security council resolution 242 didn't require israel to leave all the territory it captured in the six-day war. it talked about withdrawal from territories to secure a defensible boundry and to defend itself israel must therefore mabet a long-term israeli military presence in critical strategic areas in the west bank. i explained this to president abbas. he answered that if a

palestinian state was to be a sovereign country, it could never accept such a way. why not? america has had troops in japan, germany, and south korea for more than half a century. britain has had an air base in sipe press. france has forces in three independent african nations. none of these states claim that they are not sovereign countries. and there are many other vital security issues that also must be addressed. take israel's air space. again, israel's small dimensions create huge security problems. america can be crossed by jet airplanes in six hours. to fly across israel it takes three minutes. so is israel's tiny air space

to be chopped in half and given to a palestinian state not at peace with israel? our major international airport is a few kilometers away from the west bank. without peace, will our planes become targets for targets anti-arkte missiles placed in the anti-israel states? and how will we stop the smuggling into the west bank? it's the west bank mountain just dominates the coastal plane where most of israel's population sits below. how could we prevent the smuggling into these mountains of those missiles that could be fired on our city? i bring up these problems because they are not theatrical problems. they are very real. and for israelis they are life and death matters.

all these potential cracks in israel's security have to be sealed in a peace agreement before a palestinian state is declared. not afterwards. because if you leave it jards, it won't. and these problems will explode in our face and explodes the peace. the palestinians should first make peace with israel. and then get their state. i also want to tell you this. after such a peace agreement is signed, israel will not be the last country to welcome a palestinian state as a new member of the united nation. we will be the first. [applause] and there's one more thing.

hamas is violating our international laws by holding our soldier. he is held in a dungen in darkness against all international law. he is the son of a man and a grandson of a man who escaped the hollow cost coming to the land in the 1930s to israel. he is the son of every israeli family. every nation represented here should demand his immediate release. if you want to -- [applause]

if you want to pass a resolution about the middle east today, that's the resolution you should pass. ladies and gentlemen, last year in israel at the university this year i laid out my vision for peace in which demiliterized palestinian state recognizes the jewish state. yes, the jewish state. after all, this is the body that recognized the jewish state 64 years ago. now, don't you think it's about time the palestinians did the same? the jewish state of israel will always protect the rights of all its minorities including

the more than 1 million arab citizens of israel. i wish i could say the same thing about a future palestinian state. of course palestinian officials made clear the other day, right here in new york, they said the palestinian state won't allow any jews in it. they will be jew-free. that's ethnic cleansing. there are laws today in ram adda that make the selling of land to jews punishable by death. that's racism. and you know which laws this evokes? israel has no intention

whatsoever to change the democratic character of our state. we just don't want the palestinians to try to change the jewish character of our state. we want to give up -- [applause] we want them to give up the fantasy of flooding israel with millions of palestinians. president abbas just stood here and he said that the core of the israeli-palestinian conflict is the settlement. well, that's odd. our conflict has been raging for nearly half a century before there was a single israeli settlement in the west bank. so if what president abbas was saying is true, then i guess that the settlements he is

talking about are tell aveeve, haifa, jaffa, and others. maybe that's what he meant the other day when he said that israel has been occupying palestinian land for 63 years. he didn't say from 1967. he said from 1948. i hope somebody will bother to ask him this question. because it illustrates the simple truth. the core of the conflict is not the settlement. the settlements are a result of the conflict. the settlements have to be -- it's an issue that has to be addressed and resolved in the course of negotiations but the core of the conflict has always been and unfortunately remains the refusal of the palestinians to recognize the jewish state

in any form. i think it's time that the palestinian leadership recognizes what every serious international leader has recognized from lord george in 1917 to president truman, to president obama just two days ago right here. israel is the jewish state. president abbas stop walking around this issue. recognize the jewish state. and make peace with us. in such a genuine peace israel is prepared to make painful compromises. we believe that the palestinians should be neither the citizens of israel nor its subjects. they should live in a free state of their own. but they should be ready, like

us, for compromise. and we will know that they are ready for compromise and for peace when they start taking israel's security requirement seriously. and when they stop denying our historical connection to our ancient homeland. i often hear them accuse israel of judeaizing jewsism. that's like accusing america to americanizing washington or the british of anglo sizing london. do you know why we're called jews? because we come from jude aa. in my office in jerusalem there's an ancient seal. it's a signature no gram of a jewish official from the time of the bible. the seal was found right next to the western wall and it dates back 2700 years to the time of king he is kyea. now, there's a name of the jewish official inscribed on

the ring in hebrew. his name was netenia huh. that's my last name. my first name benjamin dates back a thousand years earlier. the son of jacob who was also known as israel. jacob and his 12 sons romed these same hills 4,000 years ago. and there's been a continuous jewish presence in the land ever since. and for those jews who were exiled from our land, they never stopped dreaming of coming back. jews in spain on the eve of their expulsion, jews in the ukraine fleeing, jews fighting the wars awe ghetto as the nazis were circling around them. they never stopped praying,

they never stopped yearning. they wished for next year in jerusalem, next year in the promised land. as the prime minister of israel, i speak for a hundred generations of jews who are dispersed throughout the lands, who suffered every evil under the sun but who never gave up hope of restoring their national life in the one and only jewish state. ladies and gentlemen, i continue to hope that president a bass will be my partner in peace. i work hard to advance that peace. the day i came into office, i called for direct negotiations without preconditions.

president abbas didn't respond. i outlined a vision of peace of two states for two peoples. he still didn't respond. i removed hundreds of road blocks and check points to ease freedom of movement in the palestinian areas. this facilitated a great growth but again no response. i took the unprecedented step of freezing new buildings in the settlements for ten months. no prime minister did that before, ever. once again no response. no response. in the last few weeks, american officials have put forward ideas to restart peace talked ufment there were things in those ideas about borders that i didn't like.

there were things there about the jewish state that i'm sure the palestinians didn't like. but with all my reservations i was willing to move forward on these american ideas. president abbas, why don't you join me? we have to stop negotiating about the negotiations. let's just get on with it. let's negotiate peace. [applause] i spept years defending israel on the ballot fields. i've spent decades defending israel in the court of public opinion. president abbas, you've dedicated your life to advancing the palestinian cause.

must this conflict continue for generations? or will we enable our children and our grandchildren to speak in years ahead of how we found a way to end it? that's what we should aim for. that's what i believe we can achieve. in 2-1/2 years we met in jerusalem only once even though my door has always been open to you. if you wish, i will come to romala. actually, i have a better suggestion. we both just flown thousands of miles to new york. now we're in the same city. we're in the same building. so let's meet here today. in the united nations. [applause]

who is there to stop us? what is there to stop us? if we genuinely want peace, what is there to stop us from meeting today and beginning peace negotiations? and i suggest we talk openly and honestly. let's listen to one another. let's do as we say in the middle east, let's talk duguy, that means straightforward. i will tell you my needs and concerns. yowl you'll tell me yours. and, with god's help we'll find the common ground of peace. [applause] there's an old arab saying that you cannot applaud with one hand. well, the same is true with peace. i cannot make peace alone. i cannot make peace without

you. president abbas, i extend my hand, the hand of israel, in peace. i hope that you will grasp that hand. we are both the sons of abraham. we share the same patriot. we dwell in the same lands. our destinies are intertwind. let us realize the vision of eyes aa. the people who walk in darkness will see a great light. let that light be the light of peace. >> next live your calls and comments on "washington journal." then a discussion on bipartisanship with former senators dorgen and lot. after that remarks by robert

zellic and imf director chris teen la guard.