Palestinian observer bid goes to United Nations November 29, 2012 -- Updated 1637 GMT (0037 HKT) Palestinian leaders return to the U.N. on Thursday to ask for permanent observer status Several European nations have said they will support the vote The United States and Israel remain opposed (CNN) -- A year after failing to win United Nations recognition as an independent state, the Palestinian Authority returns Thursday to the United Nations seeking an upgraded status that the movement's leaders hope will provide leverage for negotiations with Israel. Palestinian Authority leaders have been working with dozens of supporting nations to put together a formal draft of a resolution to grant the authority nonmember observer state status. That's a step up from its current status as permanent observer, a category that is not defined in the U.N. charter. The new status would put the Palestinian Authority in the same category as the Vatican, the city-state home of the Roman Catholic Church. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told supporters in Ramallah in the West Bank that the resolution, which many observers call symbolic, "is the first step to achieve all our national Palestinian rights." The Palestinian effort stalled last year when it became apparent it could not get the necessary support in the Security Council. Observer state status doesn't require Security Council approval, as does full membership. Only a majority vote of the U.N.'s 193 members is required to approve observer status. So far, Norway, Spain, Denmark, Iceland, France and Switzerland are among the European nations that have pledged support for the upgrade. But the United States and Israel remain opposed, saying it will not advance the cause of peace in the Middle East. "Israel is prepared to live in peace with the Palestinian state," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday. But for peace to endure, Israel's security must be protected, the Palestinians must recognize the Jewish state and they must be prepared to end the conflict with Israel once and for all. None of these vital interests -- these vital interests of peace, none of them appear in the resolution that will be put before the General Assembly today. And that is why Israel cannot accept it. "The Palestinians can get a piece of paper from the United Nations, but they are not going to get a state because Palestinian statehood can only be achieved through negotiations with Israel," he said. Palestinian leaders say they have the right to go to the U.N. because Israel failed to comply with agreements it signed more than 20 years ago. Our contract is that in five years, we should have concluded the treaty of peace and all core issues. The new status would eliminate Israeli justifications for building settlements in the disputed areas of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to Erakat. But not according to Netanyahu. "No decision by the U.N. can break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel," he said.