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World Crises Push Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Off UN Center Stage
(New York Times) Peter Baker - Where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once dominated the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly, this year it has become a side show, competing for attention against more urgent crises like the civil war in Syria and the threat from the Islamic State. Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu on Thursday told the assembled diplomats, "We will not accept any attempt by the UN to dictate terms to Israel. The road to peace runs through Jerusalem and Ramallah, not through New York." Palestinian President Abbas said he would seek his own Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "We hope no one will cast a veto," he said, referring to the Americans who have vetoed resolutions targeting Israel in the past. It did not go unnoticed in Jerusalem that President Obama devoted just one sentence to the Israeli-Palestinian issue in his final UN speech, compared with some years when the topic took up to a quarter of his address.