China firm on Palestine UN bid

BEIJING - China on Tuesday reiterated its support for Palestine's efforts to seek recognition by the United Nations, as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that he would formally apply for UN membership to the General Assembly on Friday.

"China understands, respects and supports Palestine's bid for a UN member status," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at a daily press briefing.

Hong said China always supports the Palestinians' and Arabs' efforts to regain their legitimate ethnic rights, and seeking an independent statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.

Saying independent statehood is a foundation and precondition for the peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel that will help create lasting peace and security in the Middle East, Hong also urged the international community to enhance efforts to promote an early resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had meetings scheduled on Tuesday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, among leaders, as he sought to line up support ahead of his speech on Friday to the General Assembly when the Palestinians vow to submit a letter formally requesting UN membership.

Envoys of the Quartet of Mideast mediators - the US, the UN, the European Union and Russia - planned to meet again on Tuesday in an effort to avert a divisive showdown over Palestinian statehood by crafting a way forward that would be enough to persuade the Palestinians to drop their bid and have enough caveats for Israel to get its support.

As the Palestinians edged closer to seeking statehood recognition from the United Nations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Abbas to meet with him in New York. The Israeli leader said he wanted to resume peace talks, upping the pressure on Abbas and building on the frenzied diplomacy swirling around the Palestinians' bid.

Regardless, Abbas said he had not been swayed by what he called "tremendous pressure" to drop the bid for UN recognition and instead to resume peace talks with Israel. Senior aides to the Palestinian leader said Abbas was undaunted by threats of punitive measures.

"Abbas says to everyone: it's enough, 20 years of negotiations are more than enough, the world should intervene and end the Israeli occupation as long as the USA, can't," said Mohammed Ishtayeh, an Abbas aide.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said there was still time to find a solution to the diplomatic crisis.

Clinton said in New York that the US is talking with all sides to defuse the standoff, noting that there were still several days to seek a compromise before Abbas' speech.

She joined Netanyahu in calling for new talks and repeated the US position that the only path to a separate state for Palestinians is through negotiations with Israel.

Nabil Shaath, senior aide to Abbas, said that the Palestinian leader informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during their meeting on Monday that he would present him with a letter requesting full membership on Friday, ahead of Abbas' speech to the General Assembly.

China Daily-AP