Mohammed Awad, the Hamas’ Minister of Planning and Foreign Affairs, said that “Abbas’ insistence on applying to the United Nations for statehood on the 1967 borders is a media campaign that will not reach any significant result.”

Awad said in a press statement that “a successful plan to gain recognition on September must be based on national unity.”

The Hamas minister harshly slammed the international Quartet saying it “impedes the materialization of a Palestinian state and the Palestinian people’s demands, causes and goals.” The Quartet includes the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

He said that the committee is “biased,” adding that its support for the “Zionist regime is growing.”

According to the minister, the committee holds its meetings “but to support the stances of the occupying regime or to soften international pressures on the regime.”

The latest meeting of the Quartet in Washington was held in Washington two weeks ago without any result.

On Saturday, Abbas launched an international campaign with his ambassadors from 93 countries for state recognition.

Abbas told his envoys at the “Palestinian Ambassadors’ Conference” in Istanbul that Palestinians have been left with no choice other than to apply to the United Nations for statehood after negotiations with Israel have stalled. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the conference.

“This can’t be considered a unilateral move, as a unilateral move (involves a stop to) settlement construction which Israel continues unabated,” Abbas said.

The Palestinian President said that the leadership bid to seek UN recognition of statehood would not prevent the resumption of negotiations with Israel.

“There are certain issues which can’t be resolved by the UN Security Council, or other bodies. They can only be resolved through negotiations” Abbas explained.

Disputes over settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were the major reason for suspending the direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians since September 2010.

The Palestinian leadership decided to go to the United Nations to seek recognition of an independent state in September. The US administration and Israel reject the move.