US tries to avert veto of Palestinian UN bid

US officials are working hard to persuade fellow UN Security Council members to reject the Palestinian bid for membership, Israeli media said Saturday. Washington wants to avoid the use of its veto at the 15-member council by convincing other members to abstain or vote against the Palestinian proposal, fiercely opposed by the US and Israel, Israeli daily Haaretz said. On Friday, US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice told journalists "there are more than one, and perhaps several members of the Security Council, who are skeptical about the timeliness of action in the Security Council." Palestinians say their bid for full membership of the UN comes after decades of failed talks with Israel, leaving no other choice. The US has called the bid "counterproductive" and says the conflict can only be solved through negotiations. The last round of the US-backed talks between President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu collapsed a year ago when Israel declined to extend a partial moratorium on West Bank settlement building. Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath told reporters on Saturday that a last-ditch proposal from US envoys to avert the bid made no mention of a settlement moratorium or the status of current settlements, convincing the Palestinian leadership that their only option was to go to the UN Security Council.