Abbas to renew bid for Palestinian statehood

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he is discussing with Jordan plans to resubmit to the UN Security Council a resolution calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Palestinian officials hope the UN will be more sympathetic to their resolution, demanding an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories and independence by 2017.

In the UN vote last week, the Palestinian draft received eight votes in favour, including France, Russia and China but Australia joined the US in voting against the measure.

The US has veto power as one of the council's five permanent members and has pledged to block Abbas's plan, calling it one-sided and unproductive.

Aljazeera