Abbas tells UN members that Israel must withdraw from Palestinian territory

UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in perhaps his most forceful exhortation on his people’s right to self-determination, drove home a single point in his address at the General Assembly Friday: Israel must withdraw from Palestinian lands.

“The people of Palestine are actually the ones who need immediate international protection, which we are seeking through international organizations, and who are in need of the security and peace that they are missing more than any other people, and the children of Palestine are worthy of the world’s efforts to ensure that their childhood, dreams and lives will not be devastated once again,” he said in a speech that drew sustained applause. “It is time for the chapters of this prolonged, ongoing tragedy to be closed.”