The UN Security Council has held its first talks on the historic Palestinian bid for UN membership amid frenzied lobbying for and against the application.

International powers also stepped up demands for Israelis and Palestinians to end the one-year old freeze on direct talks, with China and Germany becoming the latest at the UN summit to call for negotiations.

The Palestinian bid at the Security Council faces an uphill struggle however and diplomats held out little hope that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas or Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would allow talks any time soon.

Abbas made his application for Palestinian membership to UN leader Ban Ki-moon on Friday and it was sent straight away to the Security Council, which must approve any addition to the 193 members.

The United States has vowed to veto any resolution in favour of the Palestinians, but a technical committee will examine the application putting back any vote for several weeks.

Monday's meeting lasted barely 40 minutes. The council will hold new talks on the bid on Wednesday.

The United States and Israel, which have insisted that only direct negotiations can produce an accord, are lobbying furiously for the council members to oppose or abstain in the resolution.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the Palestinian bid with Lebanon's Prime Minister Nijab Mikati at the UN headquarters before the meeting, US officials said. Lebanon holds the council presidency in September and has backed the Palestinian bid.

The Palestinians are also to send high level delegations to council members Bosnia, Gabon and Nigeria in a bid to win backing, Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters.

'This is an exercise in which there will be tremendous pressure on members of the Security Council, but we trust in our friends,' Mansour said.

Despite the US opposition, Mansour called on the Security Council to 'synchronise itself with history' and approve Palestinian membership.

Nine of the 15 council members already recognise the Palestinian state, but diplomats say the Palestinians will struggle to get nine votes.

US President Barack Obama told Abbas publicly and privately last week that there could be no Palestinian state without an accord with the Israelis reached through direct talks.

The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East - the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations - has launched a new bid to resume talks, setting a target of an accord by the end of 2012.

Abbas, riding a wave of popular support in the occupied territories, says he is ready for talks but first there must be a 'complete halt' to Israeli settlement building in the occupied territories.

Israel's Netanyahu has said he wants talks without conditions and is refusing to halt the new settlements.