U.N. to form committee to consider Palestine request for membership

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council will meet Wednesday to start the process of formally considering the Palestinian request for membership in the world body, the council president said Monday.

Lebanese ambassador Nawaf Salam, who holds this month's rotating presidency, made a brief appearance before reporters Monday and issued a statement in English and Arabic. He said the council had met Monday afternoon and decided to take up a decision on referring the issue for further consideration two days hence. That will consist of forming a committee to study the Palestinian submission.

The United States has said it would use its Security Council veto to block Palestinian membership should the measure receive the necessary nine of 15 votes. That would keep the membership bid from moving forward to the 193-member General Assembly for the needed two-thirds vote. A vote in the Security Council was not expected for weeks, at the least.

The Palestinian envoy to the U.N. Riyad Mansour said he was grateful to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for quickly forwarding the request to the Security Council. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday submitted the application that Palestine become the United Nations' 194th member.

"We hope it will lead to fast action in positively recognizing that Palestine be admitted," Mansour said.

Mansour said that the Palestinian leadership will be meeting Wednesday on a subsequent statement by the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers -- the U.S., European Union, Russia and U.N. -- calling for a resumption of peace talks without preconditions within a month and a target for a final agreement by the end of 2012.

Israel and the United States oppose the move to grant U.N. membership to the Palestinians and consider it a step back from long-stalled peace talks, and the U.S. has said it will veto a resolution recommending membership.

Nonetheless, diplomats said the council is moving ahead -- as it does with all applications it receives. The Palestinians have demanded that there be no politically motivated delays.

The council will hold a formal meeting Wednesday to transmit the bid to a committee on admission of new members which includes all 15 council nations, diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private.