U.N. Security Council to debate Palestinian state

• Mahmoud Abbas calls for a Palestinian state
• The UN Security Council is set to consider the request
• Israel says negotiations are the only way forward
• The United States vows to veto the Palestinian request

United Nations (CNN) -- The historic Palestinian bid for statehood goes before the United Nations Security Council Monday, where it looks set for a largely symbolic debate in the face of a promised American veto.

Lebanon's Nawaf Salam, the Security Council president for this month, said he circulated the letter of application to all 15 members of the Security Council last week.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made the bid for the United Nations to recognize an independent state of Palestine on Friday, a move Israel says is premature without direct talks that address its longstanding security concerns.

The formal application drew applause in the assembly when the Palestinian leader raised the document at the podium during his speech at the 66th annual session of the General Assembly.

The time has come for a "Palestinian Spring" to join the Arab Spring in reshaping the Middle East, he said. "My people desire to exercise their right to enjoy a normal life like the rest of humanity."

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, later taking his turn to address the General Assembly, said Palestinians are looking for a "state without peace," ignoring security concerns important to Israel.

He said Palestinians are not armed only with their "hopes and dreams," as Abbas said in his speech. To that he added "10,000 missiles, and Grad rockets supplied by Iran, not to mention the river of lethal weapons flowing into Gaza."

"Palestinians should first make peace with Israel, and then get their state," he declared, adding that peace must arrive through a two-state solution that recognizes Israel as a Jewish state.

If that occurs, Israel "will be the first" to recognize Palestinian statehood, the prime minister said.

The move prompted a call from the Middle East "Quartet" for new peace talks designed to come up with a breakthrough by the end of next year.

Representatives from the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union discussed the request Friday and issued a statement saying the bid is now before the U.N. Security Council.

The group called for a "preparatory meeting," to take place within one month and intended to outline how peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders might take place. Each side would then be tasked with producing a comprehensive proposal on territory and security issues within three months, and "to have made substantial progress with six months," the statement said.

Abbas' speech, meanwhile, provoked cheers and chants from flag-waving Palestinians who watched the address on a big-screen television in a square in Ramallah, the West Bank.

His speech was closely watched across the Middle East. The hundreds who gathered in Ramallah greeted the news that he had formally filed the request with cheers, song and dance.

Demonstrations took place Friday in New York and in cities across the Middle East as demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in a show of solidarity.

An increased police presence was visible in Jerusalem, where the military had stockpiled riot-control gear against the possibility of greater violence.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said he supports Palestinian statehood, but reiterated a long-standing U.S. position that Israel must be part of the discussions.

While a U.S. veto would block the bid for full U.N. membership, the General Assembly could still vote to upgrade the status of Palestinians, who currently hold the status of non-voting observer "entity."

The body could change that status to permanent observer "state," identical to the Vatican's standing at the United Nations.

Hamas, the dominant of two Palestinian political groups, has maintained that neither a U.N. application nor direct negotiations with Israel would provide the Palestinian people "with what they're looking for."

"Abbas' emotional speech succeeded in moving people's feelings, but his description of Palestinian suffering is different from reality," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.

Hamas controls Gaza, while Abbas' Fatah organization holds the West Bank.

--CNN's Kevin Flower and Fionnuala Sweeney contributed to this report