Palestinian Leader In Historic UN State Bid

The Palestinian president has made an impassioned plea for full membership of United Nations, saying it is a "moment of truth" for his people.

Mahmoud Abbas drew sustained applause after his speech to the General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York.

He said Jewish settlements in the West Bank were blocking the movement to peace - and said Palestinian people would continue their "peaceful, popular resistance" as they aim to end decades of occupation.

Mr Abbas, who earlier delivered his formal application for UN membership to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, warned that the Palestinian authority could collapse if Israel continues building settlements on lands claimed by the Palestinians.

He criticised Israel's policy of what he called "ethnic cleansing", which he said had pushed Palestinians away from their ancestral home with continued raids, arrests and killings.

He said: "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."

Speaking after Mr Abbas, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was extending his hand to Palestinians, "with whom we seek a just and lasting peace".

He said Isreal had been "singled out for condemnation" and that while he and Isreal wanted peace with the Palestinian people, peace must be "anchored in security".

The leaders were speaking hours after a Palestinian man was shot dead in a clash with Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank.

It happened when some 200 settlers reportedly burned and uprooted trees near the village of Qusra.

There have been rallies in several towns to show support for Palestine's push for statehood.

Mr Abbas wants this to include areas of Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War, including West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

The issue has divided the international community, with Israel and the US strongly opposed and France trying to seek a compromise.

US officials in the General Assembly hall did not applaud Mr Abbas' speech, and Israel had only a junior official present.

Middle East envoy Tony Blair said that the bid would be "deeply confrontational " - and UN recognition would not change conditions on the ground in the Occupied Territories.

The US is set to block the bid for UN membership with a veto at the UN Security Council.

US President Barack Obama's administration has said Palestine should only become a state through negotiations.

It is also not about to desert Israel, its staunchest ally in the region.

Members of Congress have threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid to the Palestinians.

Palestinians also fear Israeli troops could tighten West Bank checkpoints or that Israel may suspend the transfer of tax funds it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.

In Ramallah, in the West Bank, a crowd cheered when a masked youth on a stage burned a US flag before being led away by Palestinian security forces.

Atallah Wahbeh, a 60-year-old shopkeeper in Ramallah, said: "We want to live in dignity."

He said it was important the UN recognises a Palestinian state, even if there are repercussions. "We don't need the Americans to buy us with money," he said.

A veto of Palestine is set to damage the standing of the US among Arab nations.

The Obama administration has already been seen as a reluctant supporter of the Middle East's people power uprisings by many in the Arab world.

Hundreds of millions will see Mr Obama as standing on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of the Arab Spring if he vetoes the recognition of a Palestinian state.