DOHA —  The Arab League will ask the United Nations to upgrade the Palestinians to full member status, a draft statement from a league meeting in Qatar said on Thursday.

“It was decided to go to the United Nations to request the recognition of the state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and to move ahead and request a full membership,” said the communique, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

The statement did not provide a timeline indicating the application would be made in time for the U.N. assembly in September. A Palestinian delegate said the Arab League had appointed a committee to determine dates.

Full-member status would require approval in the Security Council, where Israel’s ally the United States had said it would veto any such resolution.

The Palestinians, who currently hold U.N. “observer” status, had previously pledged to seek U.N. endorsement in September for their claim of sovereignty in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. 

The Arab League formally backed this plan in May. But in the face of opposition from Israel and some world powers, the Palestinians had previously signalled they might opt for a more limited upgrade to “non-member state” status, which requires only General Assembly approval.