Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki rejected on Saturday the Quartet’s proposal to renew peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Speaking to a Palestinian radio station, al-Malki said that the Quartet’s proposal does not call for a settlement freeze and an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines, and therefore isn’t sufficient…

The UN Security Council will take up the Palestinian bid for full statehood and UN membership on Monday. This is an unusually fast development compared to the normal tempo of the United Nations.

Council president Nawaf Salam of Lebanon told reporters on Friday that the 15-member council would begin discussions at 1900 GMT Monday to take up the application submitted earlier Friday by Abbas to the UN Secretary General. Ban passed the document hours later to the council, whose approval is needed for UN membership and full recognition of statehood.