Infolive.tv - Israel News - The Palestinians have initiated a massive campaign to gain statehood sending officials abroad to garner support a senior official said. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the aim of the campaign is to gain recognition from the United Nations as well as individual countries, Ma'an news agency reported. "First gaining recognition of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital secondly gaining membership as a state in the U.N.," the agency quoted him saying. A large number of Palestinian officials are being sent abroad to garner support for the move he said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas embarked for Europe over the weekend and will visit Norway, Spain and Turkey. Palestinian lawmakers are also being sent to India, Vietnam, China, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Portugal, the agency said. Erekat criticized the United States intention to veto the move at the U.N. Security Council saying "we can't see any justification for the U.S, vetoing our bid seeking statehood, and we call upon the U.S. Administration to reconsider their decision objectively, especially after they failed to maintain the peace process and make Israel stop settlement activities," he said.
