The Palestinian Authority has delayed the planned vote on its United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a timetable for establishing a Palestinian state.

The original resolution was tabled by Jordan two weeks ago on behalf of the Palestinians. Despite initially announcing they would push for an immediate vote, the Palestinians have postponed the bid and made some amendments to the proposal, which calls for an end to the Israeli presence in the West Bank by the end of 2017.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki blamed the delay on UN bureaucracy and the need to translate all the amendments to the resolution.

However, some sources have said that the Palestinians are holding off after unexpected opposition came from the American administration and Western European members of the Security Council.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hoped that France would endorse the resolution, but the French government has yet to announce its position, as is the case with the UK and Germany.

The Americans are against pushing forward any controversial initiative before the Israeli general elections. It remains unclear, though, whether the US would veto the resolution should the Palestinians receive the necessary votes.