US ready to fight Palestinian UN bid

WASHINGTON - The United States has decided to fight to the bitter end to convince the Palestinians to abandon their bid for UN membership, despite the rather small chance that the battle will succeed.

"We want to leave no stone unturned in our effort to get these parties back to the table," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Tuesday as two US envoys headed to the Middle East for talks with Israel and the Palestinians.

David Hale, a special US envoy for the Middle East, and White House aide Dennis Ross are to hold talks on Wednesday and Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.