Palestinian leaders to seek UN recognition as independent nation

By the CNN Wire Staff

Yasser Abed Rabbo, of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's executive committee, made the announcement.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Officials want 1967 borders, news agency says
Leaders say Obama's position is reason for move
Israeli, U.S. officials have opposed going to the U.N. absent a peace deal

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(CNN) -- Palestinian leaders announced Sunday that they will go to the United Nations this September and ask to be recognized as an independent country, a move opposed by both Israel and the United States.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, the secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's executive committee that is led by President Mahmoud Abbas, read a statement Sunday evening announcing the government's intentions, according to the official WAFA news agency.

Its leaders are looking to get "recognition for the country of Palestine within the 1967 borders ... on the basis of international legitimacy resolutions specific to Palestine since 1947," according to the WAFA report. The Palestinian leadership added it is calling "on all (countries), without exception, to support this initiative" -- saying the move "will strengthen efforts to resume negotiations" over its relations with Israel.

The move is not a total surprise, as the Palestinians have signaled recently that they may declare their statehood, partly in light of the stalled peace process. And in late May, the state-run Qatar News Agency reported that the Arab League planned to ask the United Nations to grant full membership to a Palestinian state based on borders with Israel that existed before the 1967 Middle East war.

Still, the decision is likely to face significant resistance in the United States, Europe and beyond.

Just over a week ago, Israeli President Shimon Peres said it would be a "mistake" for Palestinians to declare independence outside of a peace deal -- one that he said was "very urgent" to get done soon.

In their statement Sunday, the Palestinian leadership cited "the ideas of (U.S.) President Barack Obama" as a reason for the move. In May, Obama made official the long-held -- but rarely stated -- U.S. support for a Palestinian state based on those borders, a position that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said can never happen.

But days later, the U.S. president bluntly opposed Palestinians going to the United Nations for recognition during a press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, saying, "The United Nations is not going to deliver a Palestinian state." He and German Chancellor Angela Merkel restated that sentiment weeks later, saying they opposed such unilateral actions that could upset the Middle East peace process.

In the statement Sunday -- which was announced following a meeting in the presidential headquarters in Ramallah -- Rabbo said the decision to create an independent state "is based on the keenness of the Palestinian people and its legitimate leadership to achieve a just and comprehensive peace and abides by all international charters and resolutions."