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Ammon News - By AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas will head to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday with huge backing for his bid for upgraded diplomatic status despite strong U.S. and Israeli opposition.

Abbas will ask for the Palestinians to be recognized as a U.N. “non-member observer state” and indicate his conditions for talks with Israel in a key speech to the 193-member assembly, set to convene at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT).

The Palestinians say 132 countries recognize their state bilaterally, but some of those are expected to abstain while many European nations are expected to vote in favor even though they have not recognized a Palestinian state.

Thursday’s motion requires a simple majority of those members present and voting in order to pass, and the bid is widely expected to be approved.

The Palestinian leadership is determined to make the 65th anniversary of a U.N. resolution on the division of Palestinian territory a “historic” landmark in their quest for an independent state.

The United States, a staunch ally of Israel, has launched an aggressive campaign against the bid, warning that the vote will do nothing to improve the prospects for new peace talks aimed at ending the decades-long conflict.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and Middle East envoy David Hale met with Abbas at his New York hotel on Wednesday but failed to get the resolution withdrawn or amended, officials said.

The Palestinians gave no sign they were turning back.

Hanan Ashrawi, a top Palestinian Liberation Organization official, told a news conference in Ramallah that “the Palestinians can't be blackmailed all the time with money.”

“If Israel wants to destabilize the whole region, it can,” she said. “We are talking to the Arab world about their support, if Israel responds with financial measures, and the EU has indicated they will not stop their support to us.”

Peace talks have been stalled for two years, mainly over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which have expanded despite being deemed illegal by most of the world.

In their draft resolution, the Palestinians have pledged to relaunch the peace process immediately following the U.N. vote.