Palestinians to push ahead with statehood bid

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will hold a meeting this afternoon in Ramallah Ramallah – Nazeer Taha The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, will hold a meeting this afternoon in Ramallah to discuss the Palestinian attempt to gain UN recognition. The executive committee of the PLO and the Fatah central committee will attend , along with representatives from other Palestinian factions.
This comes after the Abbas’ meeting yesterday with the US envoy, David Hale. Abbas has held several tense meetings with the US. Saeb Erekat, member of the PLO  Executive Committee, confirmed that Hale formally asked Abbas to withdraw its bid yesterday, signaling the US leadership’s disapproval with the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral move.
“The US does not consider the United Nations as an option for the Palestinian state. The only choice that it is offering is to return to negotiations with Israel and work with the Quartet, which is currently drafting an initiative  supports the Palestinian statehood .”
According to Erekat , Abbas has said that everyone who accepts the two-state solution must support the UN bid, which does not undermine the peace process. Israel has to recognise the Palestinian state on its 1967 borders.
In the meantime, Hanna Omaira, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and the political bureau of the Palestinian People’s Party, said that the PLO has received contrasting advice on the UN bid from various stakeholders, including the EU, the Arab League and China.
“We are going to the United Nations because the negotiations have failed. Through the UN, we are hoping to put the political process back on the right track.”  
“However, this issue can’t be measured by the number of votes. It’s about achieving our goal in ending the Israeli Occupation of Palestine.”
“We have to achieve nine votes in our favour [at the Security Council] to prevent the US from using its veto power against the decision.”
“At the moment, we don’t have support from two-thirds of the General Assembly. Although many countries have recognised Palestine, we cannot guarantee their attendance at the voting session because of the American and the Israeli pressure. We know already that Poland and Bulgaria won’t attend in the voting session.”
Palestinian leader arrested.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrested Awni Abu Ghosh, the Secretary of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF), last night at an Israeli army check point in Attara near Ramallah in the West Bank.
The PPSF said in a statement that the soldiers at the checkpoint stopped the vehicle Gosh was driving and arrested him.