Palestinians to ask UN to recognise state

The Palestinians said Sunday they plan to ask for UN recognition of their independence, amid mounting frustration over the stalled peace process as Israel warned against any unilateral moves.

"We have reached a decision... to go to the UN Security Council to ask for recognition of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital and with June 1967 borders," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.

He was referring to the West Bank, Gaza Strip and mostly Arab east Jerusalem that Israel captured during the 1967 Six Day War.

"We're going to seek support from EU countries and Russia and other countries" for the measure, he said.

Erakat's comments came amid growing frustration among the Palestinians with so-far ineffective US efforts to relaunch peace negotiations with Israel that were suspended during the Gaza Strip war at the turn of the year.

They mark the latest in a series of options the Palestinians have warned they could take if the Middle East peace process remained stalled.

Others include unilaterally declaring independence, asking the UN to determine final borders of their promised state, dissolving the Palestinian Authority and seeking equal rights within Israel.

But Israeli ministers warned against any unilateral action.

"Unilateral steps will not lead to the results we are hoping to achieve," Vice Premier Silvan Shalom told reporters before the weekly cabinet meeting. "The only result should be direct negotiations."

Hardline Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau said that if the Palestinians took unilateral steps, Israel should annex the parts of the West Bank that contain major Jewish settlement blocs.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak meanwhile warned that without a peace deal, Israel will face a rise in international support for either unilateral Palestinian statehood or a bi-national state.

"Neither of these threats will happen tomorrow, but we shouldn't disregard their importance," he said.

Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad said he was intent on building institutions for a de-facto Palestinian state, which he has previously said he was aiming to complete by 2011.

"What we're concerned with, the PA and my government, is to get ready for statehood, to prepare institutions of the state," he told reporters in Ramallah. "That's not the same as declaring statehood."

"That's the goal and when we approach it this way, we stand a very good chance for getting the support, sympathy and encouragement of the international community," he said.

The administration of US President Barack Obama has so far been unable to convince Israelis and Palestinians to resume their peace talks amid deep disagreements on the thorny issue of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

The Palestinians insist on a freeze of all settlement activity before talks restart, while Israel is offering a temporary and limited ease on construction, saying the issue will be resolved during the negotiations.