Unofficial transcript 
Agenda item 37 “Question of Palestine”, November 29, 2012

VUK JEREMIC:  Before proceeding to consider draft resolution A/67/L.28, entitled Status of Palestine in the United Nations, allow me to make a few remarks of my own in my capacity as the President of the General Assembly for the 67th Session.  
Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, esteemed foreign ministers, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, during the course of this meeting, we have a distinct privilege to hear from representatives of two great nations, President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine and Ambassador Ron Prosor of the state of Israel.  They are each children of Abraham, one a descent of Ishmael, the other of Isaac.  Both come from a land that has almost continuously tormented by conflict for many centuries, with countless victims on all sides.  
The strife has not abated during the 67 years of this organization's existence, despite the fact that it came into being to save the succeeding generations from the scourge of war.  Notwithstanding the valiant efforts of some of the greatest statesmen of the 20th Century, a negotiated, comprehensive settlement enabling Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security has yet to material.  And so we still witness the enmity, the estrangement and mistrust as parents continue to bury their children. 
In today's globalizing, interconnected world, what happens between the River Jordan and the shores of the Mediterranean has become the key to the security and wellbeing of the entire mankind.  Excellencies, I have no doubt that history will judge this day to have been fraught with significance.  But whether it will come to be looked upon as a step in the right direction on the road to peace will depend on how we steer ourselves in its wake.  
Let us therefore have the wisdom to act in furtherance of the goal that we all share.  In coming to the end of my remarks, allow me to extend an appeal from this rostrum to all of you, and in particular to my dear friends from Palestine to Israel to work for peace, to negotiate in good faith and ultimately to succeed in reaching the historical settlement.  This is your common and most solemn duty to the whole world, but first and foremost, to the proud men and women who live in the land that is holy to so many of us.  
In the Zohar it is written, God is peace.  His name is peace and all is bound together in peace.  In the Koran, we read that Allah invites all the nations to the abode of peace and brings whom he will to a straight death.  
Excellencies, in a few moments I will ask you to cast your ballots as you see fit.  I'm sure that each of you will do so with a veritable feeling in your heart that your choice is serving the cause of a righteous peace.  Thank you for your attention.