Abbas to go ahead with UN state bid: Palestinians

Palestinians believe they would get votes needed for its application for statehood to be accepted.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will today go ahead with his bid to secure UN membership for a Palestinian state,a top official said,amid protests on the West Bank against US leader Barack Obama.

8220;Our people demonstrated yesterday and today to express their feeling that Obama8217;s speech does not meet Palestinian hopes for the freedom and independence that the US administration is calling for for all people,except the Palestinians,8221; said top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat.

8220;That is why our people believe that the American partiality is unsupportable,8221; he told AFP.

8220;But despite this unfair position and all the pressure,president Abbas will submit tomorrow a request to admit the state of Palestine at the UN via the Security Council.8221;

Erakat confirmed Abbas would then return to the Palestinian territories 8220;to study the options during a meeting of the Palestinian leadership,especially the initiative put

forward by President Nicolas Sarkozy.8221;

Angry Palestinians yesterday protested in the streets of Ramallah and Gaza after a UN speech by Obama which was seen as unashamedly pro-Israel.

More than 1,000 Palestinians carrying signs denouncing Obama gathered outside Abbas8217;s West Bank headquarters before marching into the city center shouting: 8220;It8217;s shameful for America to support the occupation.8221;

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Obama again opposed the Palestinian bid at the UN saying only direct negotiations with Israel could lead to lasting peace treaty.

Sarkozy put forward a plan to grant the Palestinians temporary status as a non-member observer state and set out a timetable for a resumption of talks due to lead to a deal within a year.

Meanwhile,Abbas8217;s diplomatic advisor Majdi al-Khaldi said the Palestinians believed they would get the nine votes needed in the Security Council for its application for statehood to be accepted.

But he revealed: 8220;Three of the members of the Security Council are under pressure from the Americans,8221; citing 8220;Bosnia,Gabon and Nigeria.8221;