The Arab League's Peace Initiative Committee pledged to support the Palestinian bid for unilateral statehood at the U.N. next month. At a meeting in Doha on Tuesday, members of the committee approved a work plan to build up international support for the move and pave the way for the Palestinians to secure full membership status with east Jerusalem as its capital. In an interview on al-Jazeera, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of initiating the recent tensions in Gaza in order to distract attention from the wave of social justice protests in Israel. Abbas refrained from condemning last week's terror attack near Eilat in which 8 Israelis were killed. Abbas asked the forum to intensify efforts worldwide to secure membership for a Palestinian state, and draw the world's attention to Israel's aggression in Gaza.