Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says there can be no peace in the Middle East without his people enjoying their “full and legitimate national rights.” It was the closest he came in his nearly 25-minute address before the U.N. General Assembly to acknowledging U.S.-led negotiations aimed at getting Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel. The Saudis have said such a deal must include major progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel’s far-right government has all but ruled out. The 87-year-old Palestinian leader accused Israel of a litany of violations against Palestinian rights and called for an international conference to revive the peace process.
