Frustrated Abbas gives Israel ultimatum in harsh UN address

By JOSEPH KRAUSS
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday gave Israel one year to end its occupation of territories the Palestinians want for a future state. He threatened to withdraw political recognition — a cornerstone of three decades of failed peace efforts — if it failed to do so. In an unusually harsh but vague speech to the the U.N. General Assembly, he accused Israel of “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing.” Those are explosive terms rarely employed by the 85-year-old leader, who has long been committed to a two-state solution. He spoke against a backdrop showing the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, a flashpoint holy site, and a series of maps of the region showing Israel’s territorial expansion.