BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- The Palestinian leadership is determined to submit a bid to the UN seeking to obtain recognition of Palestine as non-member state regardless of obstacles and threats, a senior Fatah leader said Tuesday.

Speaking from Saudi Arabia, Fatah central committee member Nabil Shaath said local elections would take place on time. He added that procedures to alleviate economic hardships would continue, and the president’s efforts with the UN bid would receive the needed support.

Asked if it is possible that the PA will disavow the Oslo Accord, Shaath said, “This issue has been discussed elaborately, and the subject of discussion now is the PA as a whole rather than looking for alternatives to replace Oslo. If we decide to start over and go for new negotiations, Israel will put forward more unachievable conditions than before.”

He continued: “Israel has already disavowed agreements which they did not comply with. Making an amendment here and another there would not help. The problem is not with one term or another, but rather with the method we adopt and the possibility to reconsider our struggle. That will need more than one session and the world must realize that we are reconsidering the whole issue.”

Shaath added that "We do not fear threats, neither do we worry when Israel rejects all suggestions. When we stopped efforts at an international level, we received threats, and I am sure we will obtain a non-member status in the UN."

The Fatah leader is visiting Saudi Arabia along with Fatah officials Jibreel Rajoub, Muhammad Ishtayya and Amin Maqboul. The visit is part of efforts to recruit support for the UN bid.

Asked if the PA is in Saudi Arabia looking for an alternative to Egypt because of its recent tendency to cooperate more with Hamas at the expense of the PA, Shaath said both the Saudis and the Egyptians were brothers. “

"One can’t prefer one brother to another. There is no problem with visiting different Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia who plays a strategic role in all regional issues," he said.

Shaath highlighted that the PA did not oppose Egyptian leaders meeting with delegations from Hamas or other factions, but not as a legitimate government or representative. He asserted that both Egypt and Qatar need to give the PA an explanation about treating Hamas’ delegations as official representatives.