Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki has a master plan to expedite Palestinian statehood [Reuters]

With Mideast peace talks at an impasse, Palestinians have been looking for another route to statehood: the United Nations.

“We are taking our destiny in our hands,” the Palestinian’s top UN diplomat told a small group of reporters in New York on Tuesday.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour predicted millions of Palestinians would take to the streets come September, when the UN General Assembly meets, to support the cause. He drew parallels to the peaceful Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

“The battle for our independence is not only the battle of the Palestinian leadership. This is the battle of millions of Palestinians,” Mansour said.

“I believe the Palestinian people are capable and I believe also that they want to engage in this last chapter of the struggle of ending occupation.”

He said work is already underway behind the scenes at the United Nations, as he lobbies countries to recognize a Palestinian state.

Palestine is already recognized by 112 countries. But 130 would give them a 2/3 majority in the UN’s General Assembly - the number necessary to become an official member.

There’s just one problem; according to the UN Charter, a country cannot become a member state without first getting the support of nine members of the Security Council. The United States has indicated it will veto a statehood request, saying the only way is through direct negotiations with Israel.

Mansour said the Palestinians have “other options” but refused to elaborate.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki has said that the Palestinians will seek an emergency session of the General Assembly known as "Uniting for Peace" to override any veto.

General Assembly President Joseph Deiss and Security Council diplomats have all said that membership is not possible without a referral by the Security Council. The legal question currently open to debate is whether or not a vote of support in the General Assembly would be anything more than symbolic.

For now, the Palestinians’ emphasis is on building international support for their statehood - and by extension putting pressure on the United States.

 “What would be the argument of President Barack Obama in trying really to disregard this wish,” Mansour said, pointing to the President's stated admiration for democratic movements in Tunisia and Egypt. “Not only of the Palestinian leadership but the entire Palestinian population?”

Fighting continues across Libya

NATO has extended its Libyan mission for a further 90 days, after Muammar Gaddafi made it clear he would not step down, dashing hopes of a negotiated end to the fighting.
Fifteen weeks since Libya's conflict began it is anyone's guess who is winning. NATO's raids are helping some rebels in their push west, but others feel they have been abandoned in the mountains.

The worry for thousands of Libyans right now is a lack of food, water and electricity. Some areas are fast running out of rations.
Al Jazeera's James Bays reports from the Zintan mountains

'Islamic Revolution model of uprisings'

                                                             Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar

Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar says the recent uprisings in the Arab world are a result of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.

“The uprising of the Muslim nations in the Middle East is indicative of Islamic awakening and it is undoubtedly one of the consequences of the Islamic Revolution,” ISNA quoted Najjar on Sunday. 

Speaking during a visit to the northern province of Gilan, the interior minister cautioned that enemies of the Islamic Revolution are making efforts to contain the recent movements in the region and “hijack” them through plots and human rights slogans. 

Najjar went on to say that enemies remain fearful that Iran's Islamic Revolution would serve as a model for other nations, since in the course of the last three decades the Revolution has made significant achievements. 

He emphasized that the Revolution in Iran was not a mere theoretical phenomenon but was a realistic event based on the foundations of Islam and the country's constitution which brought honor and triumph in areas such as space sciences, nuclear energy and stem cells. 

In the past two months, anti-government revolts have been spreading across the Arab world. 

Last month in Tunisia, nationwide outrage at the government's suppressive policies sparked a massive revolution that ousted the 23-year rule of despotic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and forced him to flee to Saudi Arabia. 

On February 11, a millions-strong nationwide revolution in Egypt, which started on January 25, ended the three-decade rule of US-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak. 

Other anti-government uprisings have taken place in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Jordan and Oman, as more Arab countries are expected to stage similar popular revolts.