Jordan's King Abdullah II arrives in Ramallah on Thursday on his first visit since the Palestinians won U.N. recognition as a non-member state, a senior official told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.

"King Abdullah will visit the state of Palestine the day after tomorrow, on Thursday, in the first visit by a top official to the Palestinian state after we received U.N. recognition," said Nimr Hammad, political adviser to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas returned to the West Bank on Sunday after winning upgraded U.N. status for the Palestinians, telling cheering crowds: "Yes, now we have a state.”

"Palestine has accomplished a historic achievement at the U.N.," Abbas said, three days after the United Nations General Assembly granted the Palestinians non-member state observer status in a 138-9 vote.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is due home from New York to a hero's welcome on Sunday, after the United Nations voted to recognize Palestine as a non-member state.

The main official event will be a celebratory rally and a speech by Abbas at his Ramallah headquarters, starting at midday (10:00 GMT).

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called Saturday for an "independent Palestinian state" and urged the international community not to allow Israel to undermine peace efforts in the Middle East.

Davutoglu, speaking at the opening of the Turkish-Arab Forum in Istanbul, welcomed the upgrading of the Palestinians' status at the United Nations as a "significant step."

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called on Friday for a return to peace talks, but slammed Israel's latest settlement plans in reaction to a United Nations vote recognizing Palestine as a non-member state.

"I've said a thousand times that we want to resume negotiations and we are ready to do it," Abbas told reporters in New York.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday downplayed a Palestinian attempt to secure upgraded status at the United Nations, saying it won't help them achieve their long-promised state.

"The decision at the United Nations today won't change anything on the ground," Netanyahu said at a ceremony in Jerusalem. "It won't promote the establishment of a Palestinian state, it will distance it.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met two senior U.S. officials on Wednesday to discuss his controversial bid for elevated U.N. recognition, diplomats said.

Abbas held talks with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy David Hale at his hotel, diplomats said.

France on Wednesday warned the Palestinians against taking Israel to the International Criminal Court should they win upgraded U.N. status this week, saying it would it damage peace efforts.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius acknowledged it would be within the Palestinians' rights to join the ICC and pursue Israel should they win recognition as a non-member state at the United Nations.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal on Monday told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that his movement backs a Palestinian bid for enhanced United Nations status, a Hamas statement said.

But the statement, backed by a similar one from another member of the Hamas politburo in exile, appeared at odds with sentiments expressed by Hamas members in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday said he was "fully confident" ahead of a fresh attempt to seek upgraded Palestinian status at the United Nations on November 29.

"We are going to the U.N. fully confident in our steps. We will have our rights because you are with us," he told a crowd of around 1,000 people demonstrating support for the bid to upgrade the Palestinian rank from that of an observer entity to an observer state.