A senior Palestinian official says Palestinians are giving the U.N. Security Council “some time'' to study their application for full membership in the United Nations, as international pressure mounted Wednesday to head off a diplomatic clash.

Nabil Shaath of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party told reporters in New York that the Palestinian leadership has decided to let the Security Council take time to consider the full membership request before presenting it to the U.N. General Assembly.

It is unclear if the action will affect Mr. Abbas' speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday. He had been expected to campaign for full U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, amid diplomatic efforts by a number of countries to avoid a vote on the matter in the Security Council.

U.S. President Barack Obama is pressing Palestinian and Israeli leaders to return to direct peace talks. The president held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday and is to meet with Mr. Abbas later in the day.

In an address to the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Obama said there is no “short cut” to peace in the Middle East. He said peace would not come through “statements and resolutions at the United Nations” but through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy offered a compromise Wednesday aimed at heading off a confrontation on Palestinian statehood. His plan, outlined in a speech to the General Assembly, would give the Palestinians enhanced observer status in the U.N. General Assembly while peace negotiations with Israel would resume under a firm timetable for reaching a definitive final agreement.

During Mr. Netanyahu's meeting with Mr. Obama, the Israeli prime minister said the U.S. pledge to block a unilateral statehood bid by the Palestinians was a “badge of honor.” The U.S. has vowed to veto the Palestinian effort in the U.N. Security Council.

Thousands of Palestinians rallied in towns across the West Bank Wednesday in support of the push for recognition of a Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, senior diplomats from the Mideast Quartet – the U.S., EU, U.N. and Russia – are meeting through the week in hopes of a last-minute breakthrough.

U.S.-mediated peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians stalled a year ago, after an Israeli moratorium on West Bank settlement construction expired. Palestinians oppose construction on land they want as part of a future state.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday there will be no new freeze on settlement building.