8 council members support Palestinian bid

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RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Eight members of the U.N. Security Council pledged to support the Palestinian bid for statehood, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said Thursday.

Al-Maliki told Voice of Palestine radio "great efforts" are being made to win the support of a ninth member, Haaretz reported.

He said Palestinians had two options -- Bosnia and Colombia -- and Palestinian efforts were focused on gaining support from Bosnia.

To move to the U.N. General Assembly for confirmation, the statehood bid requires support of nine Security Council members and no vetoes.

The United States has vowed to veto the bid.

Al-Maliki said Russia, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Lebanon, Nigeria and Gabon have agreed to support the bid.

Lebanon's U.N. representative, Nawaf Salam, the president of the Security Council, said the U.N. committee that will review the Palestinian statehood bid will meet Friday morning.