RAMALLAH, October 1 (JMCC) - The United Nations Security Council membership committee decided on Friday to send the Palestinian application to a panel of experts,
reports the New York Times.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submitted a request for state membership to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon one week ago. Immediately afterwords, the Quartet committee on the Middle East called on Palestinians and Israelis to return to bilateral negotiations within a month.
Palestinians and Israelis have responded warily to the Quartet initiative, which does not address demands either side has made in returning to talks that broke down one year ago.
The expert committee is expected to report back to the Security Council by mid-October, reports the
New York Times.
Many ambassadors noted that before moving on the application, they wanted to see if direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians could be started within a month.