Consultations ongoing to upgrade membership of State of Palestine at UNGA

Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat said on Thursday that consultations on a draft resolution upgrading the membership of Palestine in the General Assembly will begin with political groups after the speech of President Mahmoud Abbas before the General Assembly on September 27. The Palestinian leadership is currently studying the consequences of the decision on the level of Israeli-Palestinian relations, international relations and reconciliation, Erekat said during a meeting with the international Quartet envoy Tony Blair. He said it is too early to launch judgments before upgrading the membership of the state of Palestine at the United Nations. On the peace process, Erekat said that the Israeli government bears full responsibility for the collapse of the peace process as it chose settlements at the expense of peace and negotiations.