Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said on Monday that he expected a difficult period following this week's move to seek full UN membership for a Palestinian state.

The Palestinian people and the leadership will go through difficult times after the Palestinian approach to the UN Security Council to seek full membership for the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, Abbas told reporters travelling with him to New York.

Abbas said last week that 126 of the 193 UN member states have recognized the Palestinian state, and he will submit the UN membership request to the Security Council on Sept. 23 via UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Palestinians describe their UN membership campaign as a response to the failure of peace talks with Israel last year. The talks broke up around a year ago due to Israel's refusal to extend its moratorium on the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem and West Bank.

In a televised speech to the Palestinians, Abbas explained the reasons for the UN bid, which both Israel and the United States are firmly opposed as a "unilateral move."

"We have to be realistic and we are not aimed at isolating Israel or de-legitimizing Israel. We want to isolate Israel's policy and de-legalize the occupation," he said.

"I promise you that any outcomes of the bid to the UN will be discussed, debated and approved by all the Palestinian establishments," said Abbas, adding that "gaining full membership and then go back to negotiate the permanent status issue."