'PLO denies official launch of UN statehood bid'

While the Palestinian Authority said Thursday it had officially launched its UN statehood-recognition bid, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)  told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that the PA "does not have any international relations mandate," and that the PLO was the only body that could make such a move.

Earlier, it was reported that the Palestinian Authority had submitted a letter with the move's official plans to UN chief Ban Ki-moon in ceremony in Ramallah with more than 100 Palestinian officials and activists in attendance. RELATED:PLO official: US obsessed with preventing UN state bidNetanyahu again calls for talks without conditions The reports said that the letter itself was presented by an elderly Palestinian woman who had reportedly lost a son and had seven other sons serving jail time in Israeli prisons because of terrorist activities.

She was chosen, the report said, because her story is representative of the plight of the Palestinian people.

The PLO representative told DPA that a date had not yet been chosen for the official launch, but that it would be made in the coming weeks.

The PLO is recognized as being the sole legitimate representative body of the Palestinian people by over 100 nations with which it shares diplomatic relations.