Abbas, Netanyahu speak at UN General Assembly's session

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he would seek an upgrade to the Palestinians' U.N. status to recognize it as a sovereign country and cautioned that Israeli settlement expansion meant time was running out for a two-state solution.    

"Despite all the complexities of the prevailing reality and all the frustrations that abound, we say before the international community there is still a chance - maybe the last - to save the two-state solution and to salvage peace," Abbas told the United Nations General Assembly.    

But he warned the 193-nation assembly that Israel was "promising the Palestinian people a new catastrophe" if it continues with its current settlement policies in the occupied West Bank.      

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday the only way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons was by setting "a clear red line" to stop its atomic program.    

"At this late hour, there is only one way to peacefully prevent Iran from getting atomic bombs and that's by placing a clear red line on Iran's nuclear weapons program," Netanyahu said in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly. "Red lines don't lead to war; red lines prevent war."      

Netanyahu added that he was confident Israel and the United States could chart a way forward on how to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.    

"Israel is in discussions with the United States over this issue and I am confident that we can chart a path forward together," Netanyahu told the U.N. General Assembly in a speech.

REUTERS