Britain joined the United States on Tuesday, declaring that it cannot support a new Palestinian draft proposal calling for peace with Israel within a year and an end of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017.

Jordan on Tuesday circulated to the UN Security Council a draft resolution prepared by the Palestinians, who said they want it put to a vote before Thursday. Washington said it could not support the draft because it was not constructive and failed to address Israel's security needs.

British UN Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant was asked by reporters whether his delegation could support the Palestinian draft.

"Well no," he said. "There's some difficulties with the text, particularly language on time scales, new language on refugees. So I think we would have some difficulties."

Lyall Grant did not explicitly threaten to use Britain's veto power to help block the Palestinian text if it is put to a vote. Western diplomats have said that if the draft is voted on before the new year it will likely fail to muster the required minimum nine yes votes for adoption.

That would mean neither Britain nor the United States would need to use their vetoes. Washington will not hesitate use its veto to strike down the Palestinian measure if necessary, council diplomats said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the Palestinian initiative during a meeting on Monday with the Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who is currently visiting Israel.

"We expect the entire international community, at least its responsible members, to strongly oppose this dictate to the UN and the Security Council. What we need is direct negotiations and not dictated terms," Netanyahu said.

"If the international community does not reject the Palestinian Authority's proposal, we will do so. Israel will oppose are conditions that endanger its security."

All 22 Arab delegations endorsed the Palestinian draft on Monday, though Jordanian Ambassador Dina Kawar, the sole Arab representative on the 15-nation council, said she would personally have liked more time to consult on the draft.

The Arab delegations were meeting later on Tuesday to discuss when to put the Palestinian draft to a vote. Timing for a possible vote remains unclear.

The Palestinian draft resolution, obtained by Reuters, calls for negotiations to be based on territorial lines that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war.

It also calls for a peace deal within 12 months, ending Israeli occupation by the end of 2017.

An earlier Palestinian draft called for Jerusalem to be the shared capital of Israel and a Palestinian state. The final proposal reverts to a harder line, saying only that East Jerusalem will be Palestine's capital and calling for an end to Israeli settlement building.