Britain is prepared to back a key vote recognising Palestinian statehood at the United Nations if Mahmoud Abbas pledges not to pursue Israel for war crimes and to resume peace talks. 
 
 Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, has called for Britain's backing in part because of its historic responsibility for Palestine. The government has previously refused, citing strong US and Israeli objections and fears of long-term damage to prospects for negotiations. 
 
 On Monday night, the government signalled it would change tack and vote yes if the Palestinians modified their application, which is to be debated by the UN general assembly in New York later this week. As a "non-member state", Palestine would have the same status as the Vatican. 
 
 Whitehall officials said the Palestinians were now being asked to refrain from applying for membership of the international criminal court or the international court of justice, which could both be used to pursue war crimes charges or other legal claims against Israel. 
 
 Abbas is also being asked to commit to an immediate resumption of peace talks "without preconditions" with Israel. The third condition is that the general assembly's resolution does not require the UN security council to follow suit. 
 
 The US and Israel have both hinted at possible retaliation if the vote goes ahead. Congress could block payments to the Palestinian Authority and Israel might freeze tax revenues it transfers under the 1993 Oslo agreement or, worse, withdraw from the agreement altogether. It could also annex West Bank settlements. Britain's position is that it wants to reduce the risk that such threats might be implemented and bolster Palestinian moderates. 
 
 France has already signalled that it will vote yes on Thursday, and the long-awaited vote is certain to pass as 132 UN members have recognised the state of Palestine. Decisions by Germany, Spain and Britain are still pending and Palestinians would clearly prefer a united EU position as counterweight to the US. 
 
 Willian Hague, the foreign secretary, discussed the issue on Monday with Abbas and the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, offiicals said. 
 
 Palestinian sources said Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, raised the issue with Abbas at his Ramallah headquarters last week, shortly before a ceasefire was agreed in the Gaza Strip, as had Tony Blair, the Quartet envoy. 
 
 Abbas has been widely seen to have been sidelined by his rivals in the Islamist movement Hamas, as well by his failure to win any concessions from Israel. Abbas, whose remit does not extend beyond the West Bank, hopes a strong yes vote will persuade Israel to return to talks after more than two years. 
 
 Officals in Ramallah have opposed surrendering on the ICC issue so it can be used as a bargaining chip in future, but views are thought to be divided. Abbas said at the weekend: "We are going to the UN fully confident in our steps. We will have our rights because you are with us." 
 
 Leila Shaid, Palestine's representative to the EU, said: "After everything that has happened in the Arab spring, Britain can't pretend it is in favour of democracy in Libya, Syria and Egypt but accept the Palestinians continuing to live under occupation. As the former colonial power, Britain has a historic responsibility to Palestine. Britain is a very important country in the Middle East, it has extensive trade relations, and David Cameron should know he risks a popular backlash from Arab public opinion if he does not support us." 
 
 Palestinians have rejected the claim that they are acting unilaterally, calling the UN path "the ultimate expression of multilateralism". Israel's apparent opposition to unilateralism has not stopped it acting without agreement to build and expand settlements, they say. ||||| Israeli official says US working actively at UN to try and use procedural measures to block PA from bringing to a vote a General Assembly resolution which if approved would upgrade its status to non-member observer state. 
 
 PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN Photo: Lucas Jackson / Reuters 
 
 The US is continuing its efforts to prevent the Palestinian Authority from bringing a resolution to the UN General Assembly upgrading the its status in that body to a non-member observer state, a senior US official said Monday. 
 
 The official’s comments came even as PA President Mahmoud Abbas went to Jordan Monday, from where he is set to travel to New York to submit the Palestinian bid on Thursday. 
 
 “Our message to the Palestinians has not changed,” the senior official said. “We believe that bringing forward a resolution on statehood is unwise, does not help bring them closer to their legitimate aspirations, and will create an environment less positive for negotiations. We are trying to prevent this from happening, don’t want it to happen, and it has not happened yet.” 
 
 One Israeli official said that the US was working actively at the UN to try and use procedural measures to block Abbas from even being able to bring the resolution to a vote. He said the US was working as well in various key capitals around the world to convince other countries not to support it. 
 
 Although the 27-member EU has not yet decided how it would vote on the resolution, the Israeli official said the majority of EU states would like to see a consensus position, and that if a consensus could be reached, it would likely be to abstain on the matter. 
 
 “There is still a concerted effort to reach a consensus,” one official said. “The Europeans love a consensus.” 
 
 The EU failed to agree last November when the Palestinians gained statehood admission into UNESCO, with five EU countries voting against the move, 11 supporting and another 11 abstaining. 
 
 That Palestinian move led to an automatic halting of US funds to UNESCO, as mandated by US law. 
 
 The senior American official said whether the US would have to cut off funding to the UN General Assembly if it adopted the Palestinian resolution depended on “what is in the resolution and what form it takes.” 
 
 Congress, he added, “has already said there will be repercussions in our system.” 
 
 The official said that the US was “as supportive of a two-state solution as it has ever been, and intends on working on it.” 
 
 But, he added, “this step runs counter and makes things harder.”
– Momentum is building behind Palestine's latest push for UN statehood. France will vote in favor of a resolution recognizing Palestine as a nonmember observer state this week, the country's foreign minister told parliament today, in a move the AP sees as timed to convince other European states to do the same. "But, but, but, but, but—but at the same time, madame and monsieur lawmakers, we must show in this case a lot of lucidity," the foreign minister warned, because the vote comes "at a very delicate moment." Mahmoud Abbas says he intends to introduce the resolution on Thursday, and France might not be the only major power supporting it. Britain is also prepared to vote yes, if Palestine promises not to use its newfound status to pursue war crime proceedings against Israel, the Guardian reports. The US, meanwhile, is trying to use procedural tricks to prevent the resolution from ever reaching the floor, and leaning on key countries to vote no if it does, a senior official tell the Jerusalem Post.