-US President Barack Obama told Mahmud Abbas on Sunday that his administration opposes a Palestinian bid for non-state membership of the UN, both sides said.
"There was a long telephone conversation between president Mahmud Abbas and Barack Obama," the Palestinian leader's spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.
"Obama expressed the opposition of the United States to the decision to go to the UN General Assembly."
Abbas explained "the reasons and motives for the Palestinian decision to go to the UN ... including the continued (Jewish) settlement activity and Israeli aggression against citizens and property," Abu Rudeina said.
In a subsequent statement, the White House said Obama had "reiterated the United States' opposition to unilateral efforts at the United Nations" in the call to Abbas.
"In his discussion with President Abbas, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to Middle East peace and his strong support for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians with the objective of two states living side by side in peace and security. He also reiterated the United States' opposition to unilateral efforts at the United Nations," the White House said in a statement.
The president said he hoped he and Abbas would "continue cooperating closely in the future," it added, noting that Obama was returning a congratulatory call made by the Palestinian leader after his re-election last week.
Israel and the United States are both opposed to the Palestinian plan, insisting that a Palestinian state can only result from peace negotiations, which have been suspended for the past two years.
Abbas said Sunday the Palestinians will submit the bid for non-state membership to the General Assembly this month.
"We're going to the United Nations in November 2012, not 2013, or 2014," Abbas said at an event commemorating the eighth anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat.
"Israel's hysterical reaction to our UN bid is due to its desire to continue the occupation and we are under pressure of late from multiple parties to waive our just demand, but we will not," Abbas added.
Palestinian envoys to the United Nations on Thursday unveiled the resolution they plan to submit to the General Assembly.
The resolution would call on the assembly to accord observer membership and urge the UN Security Council to "consider favourably" an application Abbas made for full membership last year.
The Palestinian application stalled over the opposition of the United States, which wields veto powers.
This year, the Palestinians said they would instead seek enhanced status at the General Assembly, where no one member can block a resolution, and they are expected to comfortably win sufficient support.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Friday and Sunday chaired in Vienna a meeting of Israel's ambassadors to the European Union to draw up a response to the Palestinian initiative, his office said.
"Minister Lieberman will present the political position and the desired response to the Palestinian initiative in a meeting to be held with the Prime Minister at the decision-makers level," the foreign ministry said.
He told the ambassadors that during the four years that the present government has been in power, Israel approached the Palestinian Authority many times with the intent of renewing direct negotiations, but the Palestinians chose to avoid the issue and preferred to blame Israel for all their problems.
The minister stated that the Palestinians "have no interest" in returning to the negotiation table, and instead "prefer to erode the Israeli position further and further."