UN Security Council to consider Palestinian bid

However, a vote on the historic bid is not expected for weeks.The United States has already threatened to veto the move; insisting only direct Palestinian-Israeli talks can set up a Palestinian state.Security Council consultations were set to begin at the UN headquarters in New York at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT), but diplomats say it could be weeks, even months, before it comes to a vote.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was meeting early Monday with Lebanese president Michel Sleiman. Lebanon currently holds the rotating chair of the Security Council, and has backed the Palestinian bid.The United States, a staunch Israeli ally, is one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, and the White House has repeatedly said Obama will use that power.To pass, the Palestinians need the support of nine out of the 15 members of the Security Council. Six have already thrown their weight behind the bid; seven have not revealed their decision, while Colombia says it will abstain.US President Barack Obama says the UN bid is an unrealistic shortcut that will not produce real and lasting peace on the ground between the two sides.But Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, riding a wave of popular support unseen in the West Bank since the late Yasser Arafat, is ruling out new talks without a “complete halt” to Israeli settlement building.Abbas made history in his people’s long quest for statehood as he formally asked the United Nations on Friday to admit Palestine as a full member state, handing over a formal application to UN chief Ban Ki-moon.And he was Sunday hailed as a conquering hero when he returned to his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah.