Shaath: Abbas to submit UN membership letter

Snior Palestinian official Nabil Shaath said Monday that Mahmoud Abbas informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during their meeting that he would present him with a letter requesting full membership on Friday, ahead of Abbas' speech to the General Assembly.

Shaath said last ditch efforts to dissuade the Palestinian president from approaching the Security Council had failed and that offers had fallen short of Palestinian aspirations. He said Palestinians had been threatened with harsh punitive measures but that they had decided to move ahead nonetheless. (AP)