By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH | AP

RAMALLAH, West Bank: The West Bank Palestinian leadership formally decided to press ahead with efforts in September to win UN recognition of a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in what could be a blow to efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

The leadership, made up of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s decision-making body and officials of the Palestinian Authority, the self-rule government in the West Bank, said in a statement Sunday that the goal was to bring a state of Palestine into the family of nations of the world.

It approved the approach in principle, according to the statement, without adding operative steps about how to follow on from recognition.

The idea of asking the UN General Assembly to recognize a Palestinian state inside the cease-fire lines that held until the 1967 Mideast War is a reflection of Palestinian frustration with stalemated peace talks with Israel.

In recent weeks, however, Palestinian leaders have been giving signs of backing away from the initiative and toward softening their position over the renewal of peace negotiations, as both the UN initiative and their drive to set up a unity government with the rival Hamas in Gaza have foundered.