A senior member of the PLO Executive Committee has said that that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is to start an international tour to garner support for the proposal to get non-member state observer status for Palestine at the United Nations. Saeb Erekat told Palestinian television that he expects UN member states to support the proposal.
PLO sources say that the proposal is expected to be submitted on the 15 November, on the anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s declaration of Palestinian independence in 1988.
According to Erekat, President Abbas is going to attend meetings of Arab foreign ministers scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday. He will also attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states in Djibouti on Wednesday and Thursday.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported today that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has gone to Vienna to attend a meeting of Israeli ambassadors to EU countries. The extreme-right politician is to ask the ambassadors to convince EU countries to oppose or, at least, to abstain from voting on the Palestinian proposal at the UN.