Israel's ambassador the the UN, Ron Prosor speech on the occasion of the General Assembly debate on "The Question of Palestine."

Mr. President,

A great Jewish sage once wrote, “The truth can hurt like a thorn, at first; but in the end it blossoms like a rose.”

His words came to my mind today. His insight could really benefit many in this hall.

There is no question that Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza deliberately target civilians.

Thank you, Mr. President, for convening this important debate.

I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his remarks, and all others the speakers who set the stage for today's discussion.

We sit here this morning in New York to discuss the vital importance of protecting civilians in armed conflict, as rockets continue to rain down on more than one million men, women and children in southern Israel.

Vote triggers cutoff of U.S. funding for world body.
U.S. official: “There are no shortcuts” to negotiations; move is “counterproductive”.
Israel: UNESCO engaging in “science fiction”.  

The Palestinians, in another ploy to unilaterally gain statehood without negotiations, successfully lobbied for membership to the United Nation’s cultural and scientific body during a meeting in Paris today.

The Palestinian drive for United Nations membership may be resolved in the upcoming week, say diplomatic sources.

The United States has promised to veto the application, which has been under review in the Security Council for over a month. But Washington hopes to avoid casting such a stop sign.

The State Department is counting on the Palestinian Authority move receiving less than the required nine votes for Security Council approval, making a U.S. veto unnecessary.

Next Monday, unless the Palestinians can be persuaded to back down, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will vote to accept Palestine as a full member, triggering an automatic cutoff of U.S. funding and wreaking havoc with many of the agency’s programs.

Under legislation adopted by Congress more than 15 years ago, the Obama administration is mandated to withdraw from any U.N. agency that accepts Palestine as a full member state in the absence of a mutually agreed peace treaty with Israel.

"The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question" - The Middle East is in turmoil. Yet, month after month, this Council focuses disproportionately on one and only one conflict in our region.

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Thank you, Mr. President.

At the outset, I would like to extend my condolences to the people of Turkey following yesterday's tragic earthquake.

To the consternation of both the Obama administration and Israel, congressional committee leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have frozen some $200 million in aid that had been intended for the Palestinians in response to their bid for full recognition of Palestine as a state in the United Nations, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The Palestinians already are embroiled in a financial crisis and Saudi Arabia has announced its intention to make up the loss, which would have affected security and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians.

Major Palestinian factions, including terrorist organizations, reject Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' United Nations statehood request, arguing Abbas does not represent the Palestinian people.

Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said Abbas' U.N. petition "lacks any legitimacy."

"Abbas speech includes a huge contradiction between his own personal point of view and the great majority of the Palestinian people," he told WND.