World Peace Update: U.S. focuses on peace talks as Palestinians' bid for UN membership looms | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

U.S. focuses on peace talks as Palestinians' bid for UN membership looms | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "White House officials say it's unclear what course the Palestinians will take in New York. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that he will ask the UN Security Council to endorse his nationhood bid, though he said he was open to other unspecified options. The U.S. has pledged to veto the bid, and the Obama administration has senior diplomats in the region making a last-ditch effort to persuade the Palestinians to drop the measure.

But the White House insists its main focus is on resuming direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. U.S. officials contend that those negotiations provide the only credible pathway for the Palestinians to achieve nationhood.

"Whatever happens at the United Nations, there's going to have to be a process to get these two parties back to the table when we get beyond next week," White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Friday."

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