President Mahmoud Abbas will submit the application when he is in New York for the 66^th General Assembly, due to open on September 20.

The PA has said it can no longer wait for independence to be reached through the stalled peace talks with Israel.

The PA's Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said Mr Abbas would "personally present the bid to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon" when the assembly opens.

He said that Mr Abbas would "insist on this historic initiative and (UN Secretary-General) Ban Ki-moon will present the request to the Security Council".

Lebanon will hold the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in September, and Mr Malki said the Palestinians were hopeful that this would boost their chances of success.