ANKARA/NEW YORK
The Palestinians are due to ask the United Nations to upgrade their status to become a "non-member observer state" on November 29, 2012.
Palestine's UN bid for upgrading its status will be voted on Thursday.
Palestine attaches a great importance to this status as non-member observer states' sovereignty is recognized at the UN.
Being a non-member observer state - a status already held by The Vatican - would improve the Palestinians' chances of joining UN agencies and the International Criminal Court.
A Palestinian bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 failed because of a lack of support at the UN Security Council.
Palestine needs to get 97 votes of 193 members to become a "non-member observer state".
Unlike the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly and the resolution is virtually certain of approval. The 193-member world body is dominated by countries sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and the resolution only requires a majority vote for approval.
The UN recognition of their statehood would elevate the Palestinians to the same status as the Vatican, another nonmember observer state.
To date, 132 countries -- over two-thirds of the UN member states -- have recognized the state of Palestine.
The UN recognition would add weight to Palestinian claims for a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war.
The General Assembly vote to raise the Palestinians' status from a UN observer to a nonmember observer state is scheduled for Thursday -- the "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People" -- just a week after a cease-fire ended.
Reporting by Duygu Ozbay/Mustafa Keles
