Palestinians to seek U.N. status

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Palestinians will apply for non-member status at the United Nations General Assembly next month, Palestine's foreign minister says.

At a press conference in Ramallah Saturday, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to address the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 27 to seek non-member state recognition, the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency reported.

Abbas will not ask the General Assembly to set a date to vote on the application, he said, adding the Palestinians hope to convince at least 180 of the 193 member states to vote in favor, al-Malki said.

"We will become a non-member [observer] state in 2012," The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying. Then he said the Palestinians will pursue full U.N. membership.

Last September, the Palestinian statehood bid at the U.N. Security Council failed to garner a majority; however, the General Assembly can grant non-member observer state status, which will enable the Palestinians to seek membership in several U.N. agencies and at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Ynetnews reported.