Palestinian PM urges U.S. not to block Palestine's bid for full UN membership

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye on Wednesday called on the United States not to block Palestine's bid for full membership in the United Nations.

Ishtaye made the remarks during a meeting with Hady Amr, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

"We seek to move the political file again by requesting full membership in the UN in the absence of political initiatives to solve the Palestinian cause," Ishtaye said, calling on the U.S. "not to disrupt that endeavor."

"It is necessary to bring the promises of the U.S. administration regarding Palestine into effect and to support the Palestinian approach to request a full UN membership," he was quoted as saying.

His remarks came after media reports in Israel that if Palestine's bid was brought to the UN Security Council, the U.S. would use its veto.

The U.S. administration has urged the Palestinian Authority not to advance the voting process in the Security Council and warned against doing so, according to Israeli media reports.

In 2012, the UN General Assembly granted Palestine a non-member observer state status.