Palestinians unimpressed by Obama's overture in UN address

By Julian Pecquet - 09/25/12 06:09 PM ET

The Palestinians' envoy to the United States said Tuesday he was unimpressed by President Obama's renewed call for peace with Israel in his address to the United Nations, which got just 86 words in a 4,000-word speech devoted to progress in the Middle East.

"Evidently, the president is not totally focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Ambassador Maen Rashid Areikat, the chief representative of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, told The Hill in an email. “The root cause is Israel's continued military occupation, preventing us from practicing our right to self-determination. Once the conflict is over, the entire region will enjoy peace, security, and prosperity."

In his remarks, Obama reserved his criticism for groups that reject Israel's right to exist.

“Among Israelis and Palestinians, the future must not belong to those who turn their backs on the prospect of peace,” Obama said in a thinly veiled jab at Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Romney was caught on video at a Florida fundraiser telling donors that the conflict would “remain an unsolved problem” because “the Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace.”

“Let us leave behind those who thrive on conflict, and those who reject the right of Israel to exist,” Obama said Tuesday. “The road is hard but the destination is clear — a secure, Jewish state of Israel; and an independent, prosperous Palestine. Understanding that such a peace must come through a just agreement between the parties, America will walk alongside all who are prepared to make that journey.”

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was more outspoken in his own remarks at the start of the General Assembly.

“After decades of harsh occupation and humiliating restrictions in almost every aspect of their lives, the Palestinians must be able to realize their right to a viable state of their own,” Ban said. “Israel must be able to live in peace and security, free from threats and rockets.”

“The two-state solution is the only sustainable option. Yet the door may be closing, for good. The continued growth of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory seriously undermines efforts toward peace. We must break this dangerous impasse.”