UNITED NATIONS: Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday he expects a "very difficult" situation after he seeks UN membership for a Palestinian state this week, in a move strongly opposed by Israel and the United States.
The Palestinian president made the remarks as he arrived in New York, where world powers were meeting in an 11th-hour attempt to head off the membership bid and avoid a diplomatic showdown at the United Nations.
Speaking to reporters traveling with him, Abbas admitted he has been under international pressure over the Palestinian bid, which has also split the European Union.
"The Palestinian people and their leadership will pass through very difficult times after the Palestinian approach to the United Nations through the Security Council to seek full membership for the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital," he said.
Much of the international community, led by Washington and the EU, has been scrambling to draw up a peace talks proposal that would convince the Palestinians to either delay the bid, or drop it altogether.
Washington has pledged to veto the move, but is hoping to avoid a showdown by keeping it out of the Security Council or convincing the other 14 council members to vote against it or abstain, thereby ensuring its failure even without a US veto.
But efforts are also focused on a proposal for new peace talks, potentially including a settlement freeze and clear parameters for negotiations, that could lure the Palestinians away from the UN membership route.
On Sunday, officials from the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East — the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations — held a meeting to discuss a potential framework.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also held bilateral talks with EU foreign affairs Chief Catherine Ashton, while Quartet envoy Tony Blair held separate talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Blair expressed hope a deal could be reached.
"I think there is a way of avoiding a confrontation," the former British prime minister said in an interview with ABC News.
But Abbas said he would not be deterred from going to the Security Council and blamed Israel for a continuing deadlock in peace talks.
"Our efforts are focused on the request for UN membership, we will not discuss other ideas," he said.
"We decided to go to the UN because all the negotiations, direct and indirect, failed because of Israel’s stubbornness."
Israel says the UN bid is a Palestinian attempt to circumvent negotiations, which ground to a halt just weeks after they began in September 2010 in an intractable dispute over Jewish settlement construction.
But the Palestinians say the UN move does not exclude the possibility of new talks and will bolster their ability to negotiate as a more equal partner.
On Monday, Abbas called on Israelis to support the UN membership and avoid squandering a chance for peace.
He urged "the Israeli people to recognize the state of Palestine, proving that there can be a two-state solution, and not lose an opportunity for peace.
"We say to the Israeli people, we want peace, you want peace, we have lost enough time and now we want to move things forward," he told reporters.
Abbas, who is to submit the membership bid in his capacity as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), will address the UN General Assembly on September 23, after which he will present the request to Ban.
The request will seek full UN membership for a Palestinian state on the lines that existed before the 1967 Six Day War, encompassing Gaza and the West Bank, including annexed Arab east Jerusalem.
For the request to be passed to the General Assembly for approval, it must garner nine Security Council votes and avoid being vetoed by one of the council’s five permanent members.
"Our bid is not a leap into the abyss, we want our independence. We face a divided world to ask them for consideration of the Palestinian cause — when will we have a right to a state?" Abbas said.
The Palestinian leader is expected to hold talks with UN chief Ban and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday, but said a meeting with US President Barack Obama was not scheduled so far.
"I don’t think that there will be a meeting with President Barack Obama. We have not made any such request."
