Live blog: Palestinians make UN bid for statehood

14:40 p.m. Palestinians clash with Irsaeli soldiers

Just hours before their president called on the U.N. General Assembly to approve Palestinian statehood, Palestinian militants clashed with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Friday.  The AP has video:

What are the chances that Abbas and Netanyahu will talk peace tonight? The AFP says it's doubtful:

Abbas however was due to leave New York later Friday, leaving the UN Security Council to wrestle with the Palestinians' request that is likely to take several weeks now before being brought to a vote, leaving time for further negotiations.

13:37 p.m. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu disparages the U.N. General Assembly for casting "real villains in leading roles" and points to Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

Militant Islam "cloaks itself in a great faith, yet murders Jews and Christians alike with unforgiving impartiality."

13:21 p.m. How did the U.S. delegation react to Abbas' General Assembly address?  AFP reports:

[U.S. Ambassador Susan] Rice led the US delegation listening to Abbas' speech in the General Assembly hall. While the Palestinian leader was given wild acclaim at the end of his speech, Rice and two other US diplomats sat in silence and did not applaud.

The Israeli delegation, led by deputy UN ambassador Haim Waxman, also remained stoically immobile during the raucous applause.

During his remarks, Abbas called for a return to the region's 1967 borders, including a Palestinian capital based in East Jerusalem -- a policy Israeli Prime Minister has called "indefensible".

13:01 p.m. Abbas concludes remarks before the UN General Assembly and is met with a standing ovation. Meanwhile, the AFP reports that crowds watching him in the West Bank "erupted" with cheers as he finished.

12:50 p.m. Abbas delivers unsettling warning:

"Loss of hope is the greatest threat to peace; despair is the surest route to extremism."

12:30 p.m. Abbas tells UN delegates: "Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand," referencing his predecessor, Yasser Arafat

More accusations of "apartheid" in Israel.

12:20 p.m. President Abbas speaks to U.N. General Assembly -- watch LIVE:

12:00 p.m. ET Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submitted his peoples' bid for statehood to the United Nations Secretary General this morning in a ceremony which has grabbed the world's attention: