Abbas to refocus attention on Palestinians

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas heads to the United Nations this week to seek more international support and legitimacy, a senior aide said.

Abbas is scheduled to speak to the General Assembly on Thursday, a year after he addressed the world body in a high-profile bid to win membership, The Washington Post reported.

His bid died in the Security Council when the Palestinians were unable to gain enough votes in the face of strong opposition from the United States.

Nabil Shaath, a senior aide to Abbas, said that after a year of failed efforts to restart peace talks with Israel, "we just reached a dead end."

"So, we're going back to seek more international support and more international legitimacy," he said.

Abbas is expected to use his U.N. speech to refocus world attention on the Palestinian quest for statehood but it is unclear when they will submit a draft resolution to change their U.N. status from an "observer entity" to a non-member "observer state."