Arab Peace Initiative Committee insists on UN bid

The Arab Peace Initiative committee on Tuesday confirmed its support for the Palestinian bid for UN membership. The committee convened in Doha and ratified a plan previously set by a reduced committee to recruit international support for the Palestinian statehood bid. Arab ministers, headed by Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani, agreed to ask Arab League secretary-general Nabil Al-Arabi to continue to contact international organizations and political bodies to secure support for the UN campaign. An Arab diplomat told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the Palestinian Authority requested the meeting "to maintain cohesion in the Arab stand." The Palestinians are planning to present their bid for UN membership on Sept. 20, when world leaders begin gathering in New York for the 66th session of the General Assembly. Following the collapse of direct peace talks with Israel in September last year, the Palestine Liberation Organization adopted a diplomatic strategy of looking to secure UN recognition for a state along the frontiers which existed before the 1967 Six-Day War.