Abbas: Israel 'forced' PA to pursue UN bid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the Palestinians were "forced" to ask the UN to recognize a Palestinian state because of Israel's refusal to stop settlement construction and hold talks based on the 1967 borders.
"We're going to the UN because we have to, and it is not a unilateral action," Abbas said at the opening of a meeting of Palestinian diplomatic representatives in Istanbul, adding: "What is unilateral is the Israeli settlement." (AFP)
