(VOVworld) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said any agreements reached between Palestine and Israel must be “permanent and comprehensive”. Addressing the 68^th session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Abbas stressed that the current US-brokered round of peace talks may be the “last chance” to achieve peace. He went on to warn that “the window of peace is narrowing and the opportunities are diminishing”.

He asked the world community to remain alert to “condemn and stop any actions on the ground that would undermine negotiations”, which, above all, meant Israel’s continuation of settlement construction on Palestinian land, particularly in Jerusalem. Abbas urged world powers to rein in Israeli construction.

Palestinian activists set up the protest camp close to where Israel wants to build a new settlement. (Photo: Reuters)

In a speech on the sidelines of the session, US Secretary of State John Kerry revealed that Palestine and Israel have agreed to intensify talks and that the US would increase brokerage so as to adopt a peace agreement within 9 months, as the US had hoped.