Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he will address the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, September 23, the day on which the Palestinians say they will submit their bid for full UN membership.

Netanyahu is due to leave for New York next Wednesday, and will attend the annual General Assembly session. Israel had originally intended to dispatch President Shimon Peres to New York for the General Assembly, but was warned by diplomats that this would only give more weight to the Palestinian move.

Open gallery view Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Credit: AP

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"The General Assembly is not a place where Israel usually receives a fair hearing," Netanyahu told a press conference with the Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas in Jerusalem on Thursday. "But I still decided to tell the truth before anyone who would like to hear it."

"I have decided to convey the twin messages of direct negotiations for peace and the quest for peace," Netanyahu told reporters.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said earlier Thursday that the Palestinians will definitely go ahead with their bid for full membership at the UN Security Council on September 23.