US engaged in intensive talks to avoid showdown over Palestine

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the US was talking to Israel, Palestinian Authority as well as a host of countries, stressing the point that the only way for a two-state solution was through negotiations.

"We are engaged in extremely intensive ongoing diplomacy, reaching out to not only the parties, but to all of the people who are here for the UN General Assembly," she told reporters at a New York hotel before her meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba.

"We continue to believe and are pressing the point that the only way to a two-state solution, which is what we support and want to see happen, is through negotiations," she said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas today informed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that he will submit his application for UN membership on Friday after he addresses the UN General Assembly.

India has said it will support the Palestinians in the United Nations. Clinton, however, said that "No matter what does or doesn’t happen this week, it will not produce the kind of outcome that everyone is hoping for. So we’re going to stay very much engaged and focused."

She said the US will continue working on its goal of a two-state solution, which can only be achieved through dialogue.