the israelis are looking at this speech thinking what exactly is mr. abbas going to do. >> the latest there at the moment. thank you. >> well, when you look in detail at president abbas' speech, how do you read what he exactly said. what did he really mean by this. >> to clarify, i wa as was just said, the language used was very ambiguous. it's not known if the plo is terminating the oslo agreement. it is only a threat that if certain measures are not met, some measures will be taken in that direction. >> surely he's risking a lot if this is an empty threat, isn't he? >> he's risking a lot if it's an empty threat, that's true. but it's similar language that has been used for the past two years, probably not in the u.n. not in international format, but in local meetings and interviews he has mentioned, he has raised these points before that the pa currently is a shell that does not have any powers but has responsibilities, and that might push him to take measures regarding the oslo agreement. but there were no measures that were taken so far. >> practicalitie

a very difficult situation as mr. abbas tries to move forward. >> thank you.here in ramallah. >> going out to some other global news, secretary of state john kerry has raised concerns about russia's intentions in syria after russia launched it's first airstrikes against isil targets. 20 airstrikes, as we understand. this is the city of homs. bashar al-assad had asked for him. they said that the the kurdish formations. the armed ranks of the syrian opposition. in one word those who are standing up against isil on the ground as well as outside players who in one form counter act terrorist. >> that was sergei lavrov in front of the u.n. security council. this is what the u.s. secretary of state john kerry had to say to the same body. >> the united states supports any genuine effort to fight isil. and al qaeda affiliated groups. especially al nusra. if russia's recent actions. >> peter sharp is in moscow for us. is this about support for president assad or determination to defeat the terror groups. which john kerry said he would welcome. >> he gave a very, very cl

mr. abbas is looking for a way forward. he's attuned to the anger on the street here in the occupied territories, in the occupied west bank in which a recent poll found more than two-thirds of palestinians want mr. abbas to step down and want a new leadership to move forward. so he finds himself in a very tricky situation that's why perhaps we're hearing these strong comments. but what it will mean practically, we just don't know at this stage. >> india has sentenced five men to death for the 2006 mumbai train blasts. it kill the 185 people and injured several hours. several other men were jailed for life. the train network carries around 7 million people a day. >> five people have been given the death sentence. seven others sentenced to life for the 2006 blast where bombs were placed in pressure cookers and then put on commuter trains that went off during rush hour the prosecution called 200 people to the witness stand, which delayed the trial. then the supreme court god involved after one of the accused contested him bein

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

mr. abbas is looking for a way forward. he's attuned to the anger on the street here in the occupied territories, in the occupied west bank in which a recent poll found more than two-thirds of palestinians want mr. abbas to step down and want a new leadership to move forward. so he finds himself in a very tricky situation. that's why we're perhaps hearing these strong comments. what it will mean practically we don't know at this stage. >> joining me now chief political correspondent and analyst for the jerusalem post. thank you for being with us on the program. how much notice do you think israel is likely to take over what is seen as a warning? >> felicity the authorities are taking abbas' speech very seriously. the israeli leadership wants there to be a peace process. the israelis in particular are very dismayed by abbas saying that he wants to leave the oslo accords, which is what empowers the palestinian authority to be created, and it's the israeli army that's keeping him in power and preventing him from being overthro

what can mr. abbas say today to bring the palestinian issue back to the fore? >> i think that what he needs to do is he not only needs to renounce the failed oslo agreements, but i think that beyond that he needs to declare that the two-state framework is not something that has ever worked and will never work and instead call for international involvement to finally put sanctions on israel to end its military rule over palestinians and the palestinian land and to simply call for one state. this is something that he has been unwilling to do, because he wants to remain president. i think if he's going to be honest about what is happening over the course of the past 23 years while he's been sitting negotiating, he'll very quickly understand that the situation of palestinians has gotten worse. mostly it's because the world's attention is shifted elsewhere and instead of focusing on what's happening on the ground, they seem to be focusing on fictitious negotiations. >> in a poll out last week for the first time a majority of palestinians surveyed said they oppose a

mr. president abbas was speaking as i walked out here so i don't have any direct response to what he has said. i will say as a general matter that the united states has long been and continues today to be committed to achieving niece the palestinians and israelis deserve and we have described the resolution of this conflict as a two-state solution. that results in two states for two peoples with a sovereign, viable and independent palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with a jewish and democratic israel. that's been our position for quite some time and that continues to be our position today. julia? >> reporter: thanks, josh. going back to russia's involvement in syria, you just told josh that the department is reviewing those actions. the deputy defense secretary told lawmakers on the hill today that russia's move was alarming and aggressive and had come before discussions that they were promised to have on deconflicting. is that same level of surprise being shared by the white house? >> i didn't see those particular comments. i think what is clear is that we have

abbas is about to speak. let's listen in. >> translator: mr. speaker, president of the general assembly, excellency, mr., secretary general of the united nations, excellencies, heads of delegations, ladies and gentlemen, i come before you today from palestine to sound the alarm about what is happening in jerusalem. indeed extremist israeli groups are committing repeated systemic incursions on the al aqsa mosque, to impose a new reality, and divide the [ inaudible ] thus allowing extremists under the protection of israeli occupying forces, and accompanying ministers and members to enter the mosque at certain times, when preventing muslim worshippers from accessing the mosque at those times and freely exercising their religious rights. this is the scheme that the israeli government is pursuing in direct violation of the status quo prevailing before 1967 and thereafter. by doing so, the occupying power is committing a grave mistake, because we will not accept this, and our palestinian people will not allow the implementation of this illegal scheme, which is aggravating the sensitivities of palestinians and

mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, may peace mercy and blessings of god be upon all of you. thank you. [ applause ] >> before the united nations general assembly, round of applause for the palestinian president abbas. rumors have been circulating 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

abbas will also be attending that ceremony. well, let's cross live now to moscow and speak to peter sharp, a lot of heads of muslim countries attending and the significance really is that mrmself will be there. >> reporter: that's right. let me just step out of shot for a second and you can have a look at the mosque itself. it opens its doors today. one of the biddest mosques in europe, and finally opens after a decade of construction. it costs about $170 million, funded by private donations, not by the state. across the muslim world. but it actually won't solve the problems of overcrowding. now course only has five mosques and there are, believe it or not. nearly 2 million muslims in moscow. in moscow alone. and by 2050 half the population of russia will be muslims. the new mosque is really a vehicle for russia that helps russia position itself in the middle east at a time when it's military foot print in syria is growing. now of course this morning it's religious ceremony this afternoon it will be the political agenda as you said the president of turkey and the palestinians are here and will be meeting with vladimir putin. >>> pete are sharp in moscow, thank you very mu