The Palestinian Authority plans to ask the United Nations to set the territorial terms for a negotiated two-state solution along the pre-1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital, its chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Thursday.

He spoke with reporters in his Jericho office, in advance of the opening of the PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ September 27 speech before the opening session of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly, which began this week in New York.

The Palestinians plan to ask the UN’s 193 nations to upgrade their status from observer to non-member state, a move that increases their rights before that international body.

The PA, he said, hoped to garner the support of 150 or 170 UN nations for their proposal.

“The national interest of Palestinians leaves us with no choice but to take Palestine to the UN as a non member state,” he said.

Passage of such a General Assembly resolution would be considered a de-facto recognition of statehood. It can not be vetoed.

Only the Security Council can grant membership rights and full nation status at the UN.

In the past the US has promised to veto the Palestinians' bid for unilateral statehood at the Security Council. The issue became moot when the Palestinians last year failed to gain the necessary support for that statehood bid from nine of the 15 Security Council members.