Abbas to ask Arabs to set date for new UN bid

Ramallah, July 15 (Xinhua-ANI): Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will announce to the Arab League (AL) his decision to seek Palestinian membership in the United Nations, a Palestinian official said Sunday.

Abbas will ask the AL's Arab-Israeli relations committee to set a date for submitting the Palestinian request to the UN General Assembly, said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator. The committee will meet next week in Doha, Qatar.

The decision comes as Israeli officials failed to meet their Palestinian counterparts to revive the peace talks that have been stalled for two years.

The Palestinians insist that Israel stop settlement building in the West Bank and release old prisoners before the negotiations resume.

This year, the Palestinians will seek a symbolic recognition in the United Nations via its General Assembly, having failed to get a full membership through the Security Council last year.

But sources said that the AL's committee is likely to encourage the Palestinians to return to the negotiation table with Israel and delay the bid for the UN until after the presidential elections in the United States.

Qatar and Jordan are among the countries that prefer to delay the Palestinian unilateral steps and push for a negotiated solution with Israel, according to the sources.

However, Abbas is determined not to restart the negotiations until Israel meet what he calls the peace process' obligations, mainly freezing all settlement activities.

During the AL's ministerial meeting, Abbas will also request urgent financial aid to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which suffers an acute crisis that left the government unable to pay full salaries for its employees this month.

The sources say that U.S. pressure prevented most Arab states from meeting their financial commitments toward the PNA. The pressure was meant to force the Palestinian leadership to ease its stance concerning the resumption of the peace negotiations. (Xinhua-ANI)