UNITED NATIONS — Defying U.S. and Israeli opposition, Palestinians asked the United Nations on Friday to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of failed negotiations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was greeted by applause and appreciative whistles from the delegations in the General Assembly hall as he outlined his people’s hopes of becoming a full member of the United Nations.

Some members of the Israeli delegation, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, left the hall as Abbas approached the podium.

In a scathing denunciation of Israel’s settlement policy, Abbas declared that negotiations with Israel “will be meaningless” as long as it continues building on lands the Palestinians claim for that state.

He held up a copy of the membership application and said he had asked U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to expedite his request to have the United Nations recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Shortly after, Ban announced that he had referred the application to the Security Council, where it is expected to founder under the weight of U.S. opposition and a possible veto.