Egypt says Obama speech will help Palestinians

UNITED NATIONS — Egypt’s UN ambassador says President Barack Obama’s backing of a key Palestinian demand on the borders of its future state will help Palestinian leaders win United Nations recognition.

Maged Abdelaziz linked Obama’s support for the borders that existed before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war to the Palestinian campaign to get two-thirds of the UN General Assembly — at least 128 of its 192 member states — to recognize Palestine as a state.

He told a group of reporters Thursday that a two-thirds vote is required for Palestine to be recognized as a non-member state of the United Nations, and he predicted at least 130 countries, and probably more, will recognize Palestine by September.