RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, Sept 22, (Agencies): Angry Palestinians on Thursday protested in the streets of Ramallah and Gaza after a UN speech by US President Barack Obama which was seen as unashamedly pro-Israel. More than 1,000 Palestinians carrying signs denouncing Obama gathered outside the West Bank headquarters of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas before marching into the city centre shouting: “It’s shameful for America to support the occupation.” And in Gaza City, around 300 women held a protest outside the UN headquarters, shouting anti-Obama slogans as Hamas security forces watched them without intervening.

In Nablus, around 200 teachers protested in the city centre, holding banners reading: “America is a partner of the Israeli occupation and terrorism” and “Obama wants to buy votes with Palestinian blood.”
Essam Dababseh spokesman of the teachers said to AFP: “We are protesting against Obama’s speech which was biased towards Israel.” “We want to support the Palestinian leadership in the face of American pressure.” Obama’s address to the UN General Assembly, in which he reiterated his opposition to the Palestinian bid for UN membership, and empathised with Israel’s struggle in a hostile region without mentioning the occupation or Jewish settlements, has sparked almost unanimous condemnation across the Palestinian territories.

“America is the head of the snake,” bellowed demonstrators in Ramallah as they held up signs deriding Obama for his address, in which he warned the Palestinians there would be “no shortcuts” to peace.
“Shame on those who pretend to be democratic,” read one placard as the throng marched to the city centre, where on Wednesday more than 15,000 people had gathered for a festival of support for the UN membership campaign.
The Palestinian workers union said it would call for rallies outside US embassies across the Arab world on Friday.
Commentators, politicians and ordinary people alike said Obama’s speech, which came just two days before Abbas formally requests UN membership for a Palestinian state, proved Washington was incapable of serving as an impartial broker in matters related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Obama’s speech reflects the American bias towards the Israeli occupation and it proves that the continuing Arab and Palestinian bet on the Americans is wrong,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Gaza’s Hamas rulers.

“We call for the adoption of a national Palestinian strategy based on self reliance and the Arab and Muslim world in light of this American and Israeli arrogance.”
Commentators in the three main Palestinian newspapers all took the same angry and disappointed tone over the US president’s remarks.
“Obama’s speech... was a disappointment to those who had been waiting for something new from him, provoking extreme outrage and anger,” wrote Talal Okal in the Al-Ayyam daily.
He accused Obama of “deepening the bias towards Israel’s narrative, positions and policies.”
“He put the Jews and Israelis in the position of victims who are surrounded by hatred and wars against them by Arab countries, but this speech of his contained nothing of the suffering of the Palestinians.”
Writing in Al-Quds, the biggest-selling Palestinian newspaper, Arab Israeli MP Ahmed Tibi said Obama’s speech had tried to cosy up to the wave of uprisings sweeping the region while completely ignoring the plight of the Palestinians.

“In the same speech in which Obama praised the uprisings and revolutions by the Arab people against tyranny and oppression, he declined to even mention Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land,” he wrote.
Similar complaints could be heard on the Palestinian street.
“When Obama came into the White House as president, his positions and aspirations gave us hope,” said Mohammed Zeidan, a school director in Ramallah, accusing the US president of being “fair to every Arab country except the Palestinian people.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian officials brushed aside a promised US veto and pressure to abandon their bid for UN membership, saying they were determined to take their case to the Security Council and realize a goal unfulfilled by decades of negotiations.
Senior aides to President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinians would not accept political delays in their membership bid, but acknowledged that final UN action might not be taken for months or even longer. Abbas was expected to formally deliver a letter requesting membership on Friday when his turn comes to speak to the UN General Assembly.

The issue was dominating the annual meeting ministerial meeting of the world body as the diplomatic world swirled with speculation about what deals might be in the works. The United States, insisting that Palestinian statehood depends first of peace with Israel, has vowed to veto the Palestinian measure should it win the needed nine of 15 Security Council votes.
Teams of envoys from the United States, the European Union and France were engaged in frenzied, last-minute efforts to persuade Abbas to return to the negotiating table and make do with something less than full UN membership.
Obama and Abbas met for more than 45 minutes Wednesday evening. The White House wouldn’t say whether Obama directly asked the Palestinian leader to abandon his plans to pursue full UN membership, saying only that he reiterated his opposition to the statehood bid and the US intention to issue a veto.
So far there was no indication that Abbas was ready for compromise despite intense pressure, but his aides said they were not setting deadlines for the Security Council to consider the application. And they left the door open for a Plan-B request to the General Assembly for an upgrade of their current status as a permanent observer to a nonmember observer state.

That option is seen as the lesser of two evils by the US and others seeking to steer them clear from the Security Council for now.
“This is an option that is open to us ... starting tomorrow, if we chose to do so, but President Abbas does not want anybody to suspect a lack of seriousness if we address the two councils at the same time,” Palestinian negotiator and senior Abbas adviser Nabeel Shaath told reporters. “So he will give some time to the Security Council to consider first our full membership request before heading to the General Assembly.”
“We do not have a time limit,” said Shaath. Nevertheless, he said, “This is a moment of truth.”
Saeb Erekat, another senior aide, echoed that sentiment, saying the pursuit of UN membership would not be slowed: “We will not allow any political maneuvering on this issue,” he said

Also:
GENEVA: The UN expert for the Palestinian territories Richard Falk on Thursday called on UN member states to recognise Palestine as a state, saying its right of self-determination should be respected.
In a statement, Falk “called on every United Nations Member State to recognise the reality of Palestinian statehood, and urged Israel to listen to the will of the Palestinian people.”
“The upcoming debate on Palestine’s initiative at the United Nations provides a momentous occasion for the international community to respond to a legacy of injustice,” he said.
“The will of the Palestinian people must be respected too, starting this week at the United Nations and until Palestinians can enjoy the right they share with all other peoples of the world - the right to self-determination,” added the special rapporteur.
The move is fiercely opposed by Israel, which accuses the Palestinians of trying to circumvent peace negotiations, and also by Washington, which has threatened to veto the move in the Security Council.
But Falk said the occasion presented an opportunity for Israel and the United States “to live up to the promise of the two-State solution.
“On so many past occasions, deliberate obstinacy has defeated efforts to resolve the conflict,” he noted.
“Nearly 20 years of direct negotiations have actually given Israel time to undermine the two-State solution,” said Falk, who is known for his criticisms of Israeli policies against the Palestinians.