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Morsi calls for Palestinian state in first visit to UN

Morsi calls for Palestinian state in first visit to UN

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi called Wednesday in his first appearance at the UN General Assembly for the establishment of a Palestinian state, DPA reported.

"I call upon all of you, just as you have supported the revolutions of the Arab peoples, to lend your support to the Palestinians in their endeavours to regain the full and legitimate rights of a people struggling to gain its freedom and establish its independent state," he told the body in New York.

He called for an end to settlement activity and for international efforts toward an establishment of a Palestinian state.

"It is shameful that the free world accepts, regardless of the justifications provided, that a member of the international community continues to deny the rights of a nation that has been longing for decades for independence," he said.

He also called for an end to the bloodshed in Syria, which he said was the "tragedy of the age," and expressed support for efforts to ensure the conflict does not turn into a full-scale civil war.