Report: U.N. chief to miss Abbas speech

UNITED NATIONS – WND has learned that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, yielding to intense U.S. pressure, has decided to snub the speech of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas today.

There were reports Abbas was hoping to grandstand his drive for U.N. membership by handing his letter to Ban in front of the General Assembly.

Abbas still will submit his application for membership, but the photo op will now be in Ban's private office.

"He will not be in the General Assembly hall at all," is all Ban's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, would say.

The move by the U.N. chief will deprive the PA president of the so-called "money shot" of handing his application for membership in front of all the delegates in the General Assembly hall.

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The decision by Ban to move the venue of the letter acceptance reflected a growing irritation by the U.N. chief of being drawn into the political fray between Washington and the Palestinian Authority.

Ban's decision to move the Abbas meeting to his U.N. office conforms with other recent membership applications, most recently South Sudan's.

The big difference is that the General Assembly was not in session at that time.

So, where will Ban be?

Nearby in another building to preside over the closing session of a U.N. side meeting, the Alliance of Civilizations.

No reaction was offered by the U.S. or Israeli U.N. missions.