Mahmoud Abbas asks U.N. for timetable for Israeli withdrawal

Renewed peace negotiations with Israel would be "naive at best" without setting a deadline for withdrawal, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly on Friday.

By JC Finley
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, pictured in August, addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York on September 26, 2014. (UPI/Debbie Hill)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, pictured in August, addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York on September 26, 2014. (UPI/Debbie Hill) | License Photo

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, calling for an end to the Israeli occupation and advocating for the U.N. to establish a timeline for Israel's withdrawal.

A visibly enraged Abbas accused Israel of inflicting a "new war of genocide" in the recent Israeli-Hamas conflict.

He also said that negotiations with Israel at this point would be "naive at best" without setting a deadline for withdrawal.

"There is no value in negotiations which are not linked to a firm timetable."

Abbas did not, however, offer specifics regarding a time frame for the desired withdrawal.

An official who works in the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried Abbas' remarks as inflammatory and inaccurate.

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