The Palestinian leader informs the United Nations that achieving peace in the Middle East is impossible unless his people are granted complete rights.

UNITED NATIONS — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that 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 a nearly 25-minute address 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.

At the beginning of his speech to the United Nations, Abbas stated that those who believe peace can be achieved in the Middle East without granting the Palestinian people their complete and rightful national rights are incorrect.

The speech given by the 87-year-old Palestinian leader was quite similar to his previous sessions. He condemned Israel for numerous violations against Palestinian rights and proposed an international conference to reestablish the peace process.

“I cannot reword”

The Israeli representatives left the room before he finished speaking, specifically when he mentioned Israel’s policy of retaining the bodies of suspected Palestinian attackers.

There have been no serious or substantive peace talks in over a decade. Abbas is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, many of whom view his Palestinian Authority as a corrupt pillar of the status quo.