Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator in peace talks with Israel, said he expected the resolution would be put to a Security Council vote in February, after the United States ends its presidency of the council.

"We are not condemning Israel. We are condemning settlement activities and we hope the resolution will pass," Erekat said.

He said 15 nations had helped draft the proposal after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas requested a UN Security Council meeting to discuss settlement building in November.

As the Palestinians have only observer status at the United Nations, the resolution will be presented by a full member of the council.

The Palestinians want Israel to stop building on land, including areas in and around East Jerusalem captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War, where they plan to found an independent state.

Major powers including the United States see the settlements as an obstacle to a peace deal that would end the six-decade-old conflict.

Nearly 500,000 Jews live on land captured by Israel in the 1967 war, where the Palestinians want to found a state that would also include the Gaza Strip, separated from the West Bank.