In defiance of the United States and Israel, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the United Nations Friday pressing the case for the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas: “The support of the countries of the world for our endeavor is a victory for truth, freedom, justice, law and international legitimacy, and it provides tremendous support for the peace option and enhances the chances of success of the negotiations. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, your support for the establishment of the state of Palestine and for its admission to the United Nations as a full member is the greatest contribution to peacemaking in the land of peace and throughout the world.”

Mahmoud Abbas told world leaders that a “Palestinian Spring” had been born, similar to the mass demonstrations across the Middle East.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas: “The time has come to end the suffering and the plight of millions of Palestinian refugees in the homeland and the diaspora, to end their displacement and to realize their rights, some of whom were forced to take refuge more than once in different places of the world. At a time when the Arab peoples affirm their quest for democracy, in what is called now the Arab Spring, the time has come also for the Palestinian Spring, the time for independence.”

On Saturday, Mahmoud Abbas said he expected the U.N. Security Council to finish debating his nation’s application for full United Nations membership in weeks, not months.