As he voiced his support to the Palestinian statehood, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the bid as "long overdue".

As he voiced his support to the Palestinian statehood, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the bid as "long overdue".

"The two-state vision where Israel and Palestinians can live... side by side in peace and security -- that is a still a valid vision and I fully support it," he told reporters Friday in Australia as part of a sweeping Pacific tour.
"And I support also the statehood of Palestinians; an independent, sovereign state of Palestine. It has been long overdue."

"But... the recognition of a state is something to be determined by the member states," he added.
"It is not by the Secretary General so I leave it to the member states to decide to recognize or not to recognize."

A day earlier, Palestinians launched their campaign to join the UN. Their "National Campaign for Palestine: State 194" is part of the build-up to September 20, when Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmud Abbas is expected to submit a formal request that the UN accept Palestine as a member.

The official Palestinian campaign of support for the bid got under way with about 100 people marching to UN headquarters in the West Bank Thursday to hand a letter to the UN representative asking that Ban support them.

The United States, which has a permanent seat in the UN Security Council has already confirmed it would veto any bid.
 However, If the bid is vetoed in the Security Council, the Palestinians plan to turn to the General Assembly where they are expected to easily win the votes needed to upgrade their representation from observer body to non-member state.